Kim Sun-ho and Jo Ji-ho, Rapid Promotion to Police Commissioner in Just 6 Months (Comprehensive)

Three Officers Including Chief Han Chang-hoon Promoted to Police Commissioner
Second Half Police Senior Executive Personnel Moves Begin in Earnest

Kim Sun-ho, the inaugural Director of the Police Bureau at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety / Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] On the 20th, the government promoted two police officers with the rank of Chief Superintendent, Kim Sun-ho, Director of the Police Bureau at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and Jo Ji-ho, Director of the Public Safety Information Bureau at the National Police Agency, to the rank of Commissioner General. The rank of Commissioner General is directly below the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency (Chief Commissioner, 1 position), and there are seven positions including the head of the National Investigation Headquarters, Deputy Commissioner of the National Police Agency, and chiefs of the Seoul, Busan, Southern Gyeonggi, and Incheon Police Agencies, as well as the Police University President.

Director Kim was born in Gwangju, graduated from Gwangju High School and Sungkyunkwan University with a degree in Political Science and Diplomacy, and joined the police force in 1989 through the sergeant recruitment program. He was promoted to Superintendent General in 2017 and served as Chief Superintendent of the Southern Gyeonggi Police Agency and Chief of the Suwon Southern Police Station in Gyeonggi. This year, he was promoted to Chief Superintendent, served as Director of the Security Investigation Bureau at the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency, and was appointed as the inaugural Director of the Police Bureau at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which was launched last September.

Director Jo was born in Cheongsong, Gyeongbuk, graduated from Daegu Daegun High School, and entered the police academy as part of the 6th class. He served as Personnel Officer at the National Police Agency, Head of the Autonomous Police Division at the Southern Gyeonggi Police Agency, and Police Situation Manager at the National Police Agency. This year, on the 6th, he was promoted to Chief Superintendent and took charge as Director of the Public Safety Information Bureau at the National Police Agency. He is known as a representative ‘personnel expert’ within the police and has a history of participating in President Yoon Seok-yeol’s transition committee.

Both Director Kim and Director Jo achieved ‘ultra-fast promotion,’ becoming Commissioner Generals just six months after being promoted to Chief Superintendent. However, Director Kim faces allegations of preferential recruitment, and Director Jo is under controversy as the person ultimately responsible for the internal document leak to the media following the Itaewon tragedy. These issues are expected to cause considerable internal friction within the police regarding this personnel appointment.

Additionally, the government has nominated Han Chang-hoon, Head of the Traffic Guidance Division at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Kim Byung-woo, Police Administrator at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, and Choi Hyun-sun, Head of the Investigation Division at the Daejeon Police Agency (all Superintendent Generals), for promotion to Chief Superintendent. The assignments for the new Commissioner Generals and Chief Superintendents will be decided through consultations with the local autonomous police committees and are expected to be finalized as early as this week. Meanwhile, with the start of the second half’s senior personnel appointments, personnel changes within the police organization are expected to accelerate, including transfers of Chief Superintendents, promotions of Superintendent Generals, and appointments below the rank of Senior Superintendent.

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