New acting chief stresses need to 'redesign' police to regain public trust

Changwon, South Korea - South Korea's new acting police chief has emphasized the necessity for a comprehensive overhaul of the national police agency to restore public trust, which has been severely shaken by a series of high-profile misconduct scandals. Kim Jong-chul, the newly appointed acting head of the National Police Agency (NPA), expressed his concern that the public's distrust of police investigations and administrative affairs has reached a critical threshold.

In a recent case that sparked outrage, a police officer improperly closed a missing person case on the southern island of Jeju without verifying the safety of the missing woman. Her body was discovered last week, following her reported missing in May. Kim pledged to address the concerns arising from the NPA's decision to relinquish prosecutors' authority to conduct supplementary investigations, a change set to take effect on October 2.

The Cabinet recently approved this legal revision, which will transfer investigative authority primarily to the police. Kim, who previously led the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency, was appointed as the NPA's deputy commissioner general on Tuesday, stepping into the acting head role due to an ongoing vacancy in the top position.