New police leadership vows sweeping reforms to regain public trust

Seoul, September 3 (Yonhap) -- The Korean National Police Agency's newly appointed acting chief, Kim Jong-chul, addressed the nation on Thursday, acknowledging the agency's recent failures in managing high-profile missing-person and murder cases. He vowed to implement sweeping internal reforms aimed at regaining public trust. The meeting, which included the new police leadership, was set with the slogan "The police have fallen short. Through deep self-reflection and sweeping reforms, we will rebuild the police from the ground up."

Kim emphasized that the police must regain the trust of the people, stating, "We will not stop at mere rhetoric. We will prove it through changes and actions." The statement was released as public outrage grew over the wrongful closure of a missing woman's case by a Jeju police officer, which may have led to her death. Additionally, allegations surfaced that police in Gwangju had leaked investigative materials to a murder suspect's father, a fellow officer, further eroding public confidence in the police force.

Kim clarified that he would not blame individual officers for the repeated instances of police misconduct. Instead, he pledged to investigate the responsibility of police leadership and the organization as a whole. During the meeting, police leadership agreed to thoroughly review the handling of missing-person cases, encompassing all stages from initial response to closure. They also decided to hold officers accountable for negligence, irrespective of their rank, following a nationwide inspection of missing-person cases.