The government has made significant personnel changes in the upper ranks of the police, replacing the deputy chief and the chiefs of the Seoul and Incheon police departments. However, the top position of police chief remains unfilled. Kim Jong-cheol, the new deputy chief, will serve as the third acting police chief since the removal of former chief Jo Gi-ho in December 2024, leaving the position vacant for approximately 21 months.
Amid this situation, there are growing speculations within and outside the police regarding a 'Blue House scenario' for the next police chief. It is suggested that Lee Jong-won, who moved from the Chungbuk police chief position to the Blue House as the National Safety Secretary, may return to the police as a senior commissioner and be appointed directly as chief.
There are precedents for this. During the Park Geun-hye administration, the positions of Blue House security secretary and social safety secretary (the predecessor of the National Safety Secretary) served as notable pathways to high-ranking police positions. Former chiefs Kang Shin-myung and Lee Cheol-seong, along with former Seoul police chief Koo Eun-soo, all ascended to the police leadership after serving in these roles, establishing a so-called 'hotline' between the Blue House and the police.
This close relationship between the Blue House and the police has ultimately undermined 'political neutrality.' Ahead of the 2016 general elections, the police's intelligence organization collected information that could be used to benefit the ruling party at the time, the Saenuri Party, and pro-Park candidates. Directives from the Blue House led to the creation of documents analyzing national trends and election strategies. Former chiefs Kang Shin-myung and Lee Cheol-seong, along with former safety secretary Park Hwa-jin, were indicted for violating public election laws and abuse of power, receiving suspended prison sentences in 2024.
In this context, attorney Kim Jong-min, who served on the Prosecutorial Reform Committee during the Moon Jae-in administration, stated, “In the past, the security secretary effectively oversaw police appointments, allowing the president to directly control the police through personnel authority. This structure seems to have been revived with the National Safety Secretary. It appears that the National Safety Secretary will serve as a ladder to the police leadership, and this is not just 99% but 100% true.”
Currently, the police hold more power than ever before. With the abolition of direct investigative authority for the prosecution and the restructuring of the criminal justice system, the police are now responsible for the majority of investigations. What is most needed from the police now is 'political independence.'
The prosecution has faced criticism for being a 'handmaiden of the regime' due to its subservience to the power that holds personnel authority. However, the police are particularly sensitive to personnel matters. In a unified rank system from patrol officers to the police chief, the path to promotion sends strong signals throughout the organization. If the perception that working at the Blue House is a shortcut to becoming chief takes hold, the focus of high-ranking police officials will inevitably shift from the public to the Blue House.
If, after leaving the police chief position vacant for 21 months, the government appoints the National Safety Secretary as chief, it will invite criticism of 'parachute appointments' that the Lee Jae-myung administration has brought upon itself. At that point, the issue will not just be about one chief's appointment. The government's and ruling party's commitment to police independence and political neutrality will be put to the test. The police chief is not the president's police chief; he is the police chief of the Republic of Korea.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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