About half of South Korea's 242 police station chiefs have been replaced. In the latest reshuffle, police applied across the board a rule barring officers from serving in their hometown regions for station chief posts and key investigative and internal-audit positions, and redeployed personnel with a focus on investigative expertise and victim protection.
The National Police Agency said on the 13th that it had carried out its second-half transfer of senior superintendents covering a total of 385 positions. The reshuffle replaced 118 of the country's 242 police station chiefs.
Police applied the hometown-avoidance rule in full to the posts of inspection, audit and human rights officer at metropolitan and provincial police agencies, to key division chief posts in investigative units, and to police station chief positions. For inspection, audit and human rights officers and key investigative posts, the rule was applied at the metropolitan and provincial level, while for station chiefs it was applied either at the metropolitan and provincial level or by personnel district within a province.
Police assigned officers with relevant experience and demonstrated capability to key posts including investigative units, inspection, audit and human rights officer roles, and the positions of women and juvenile affairs division chief and women's safety division chief. The aim is to strengthen investigative expertise while reinforcing the system for protecting women, children and crime victims.
A National Police Agency official said the agency will continue to overhaul its operations "to embed the changed criminal justice system in the field and to provide stronger protection for women, children and victims."