Police Commissioner Assignment Personnel Change Reversed in 2 Hours Due to Ministry of the Interior's Request... Police Chief Remains Tight-Lipped

Controversy Amid Unprecedented Reversal
Criticism of 'Police Intimidation' and 'Hasty Personnel Changes'
Police Chief Kim Chang-ryong Silent on Arrival

On the 21st, the Advisory Committee on Police System Improvement under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced recommendations for police control measures, including the establishment of a police bureau within the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, at the National Police Agency in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The police superintendent general personnel appointment announced on the 21st was carried out abruptly right after Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min returned from an overseas trip. Coinciding with the announcement of the police control recommendations by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s Police System Improvement Advisory Committee on the same day, the move has been criticized as a 'police taming personnel appointment.' Furthermore, some appointees' assignments were reversed about two hours after the announcement at the request of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, leading to criticism of the appointment as hasty. The Commissioner of the National Police Agency did not issue any statement.

According to a summary of our investigation on the 22nd, Minister Lee returned around 5:20 p.m. the previous day from a trip to Georgia, USA, via Incheon Airport. The police superintendent general personnel appointment was announced less than two hours after his return, at around 7:15 p.m. The personnel changes involved 28 superintendent generals, including 10 such as Kim Soo-young, the chief of Bundang Police Station in Gyeonggi Province, who had already been promoted to superintendent general. That day, the advisory committee of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced recommendations for police control, including the establishment of a so-called Police Bureau. The appointment of superintendent generals, who rank third in the police hierarchy, was made amid widespread police opposition immediately following the advisory committee’s announcement.

Initially, it was widely expected that the personnel appointments would be made either on that day or on the 23rd. Since Minister Lee has the authority to propose personnel appointments for senior police officers at the rank of chief superintendent or higher, it was anticipated that the appointments would be made and announced after his return from the overseas trip. However, the appointments were made abruptly on the day of his return, just a few hours after the police control recommendations were announced. Inside and outside the police, there were critical interpretations suggesting that the appointments meant "to obey without questioning the police control measures."

However, an unprecedented situation occurred when seven appointees were reversed about two hours after the initial announcement, around 9:30 p.m. During this process, Lee Myung-gyo, the autonomous police chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, who was not on the initial list, was included. Lee had been referred to a disciplinary committee after an internal audit confirmed that he had received preferential treatment in booking a police golf course during his tenure as director of the Police Human Resources Development Institute. He was expected to be demoted in this appointment. The unprecedented reversal of appointments sparked criticism within the police, labeling it as a 'hasty personnel appointment that disrespects the police.'

In an explanation to the press corps, the National Police Agency stated, "There were several versions of the personnel list during the consultation process, and a staff member uploaded an intermediate version instead of the final version, later discovering the error." However, seemingly mindful of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, they drew a clear line by saying, "The Ministry of the Interior and Safety was not involved at all." They claimed it was a simple mistake by a staff member. But this explanation was soon revealed to be false. As the issue grew, the National Police Agency issued an additional explanation, reversing their previous statement: "We were notified by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety that the version we posted internally was the final one, but later the Ministry requested a correction, saying another version was the final one." Ultimately, the reversal of the appointments was not due to a police staff member’s mistake but due to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s request for revision.

Regarding this incident, Kim Chang-ryong, the head of the National Police Agency, remained tight-lipped. On the morning of the 22nd, during his commute, he said, "I have been informed that there was an error in the transmission of the list," but made no further comments. Inside the police, various interpretations are emerging regarding the commissioner’s silence.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.