The Korean National Police Agency has named the late Sergeant Sim Yeon-su and the late Senior Inspector Kim Seon-hyeon as its 2026 Police Heroes, marking the 81st Police Day.
The agency said on the 21st that it selected the two officers, both of whom died in the line of duty saving lives and protecting citizens at crime scenes, to honor their service. The agency has designated Police Heroes annually since 2017, recognizing officers whose sacrifice and dedication set an example for the force.
Sim joined the police in 1948, fought in the 1950-53 Korean War and later served at posts including the Mukho substation of the Gangneung Police Station. While patrolling the area around Mukho Station in Gangwon State on June 11, 1963, he spotted an intoxicated man walking along the tracks as a train approached. Sim jumped onto the tracks and pushed the man clear, but was unable to get out of the way of the train himself and was killed.
To honor Sim's sacrifice, the agency installed a memorial at Mukho Station in 2019 and designated the surrounding area as a police pilgrimage route.
Kim responded to an emergency call reporting a knife attack in Yeongyang County, North Gyeongsang Province, on July 8, 2018. He was stabbed and killed while trying to subdue the suspect, who was wielding a knife.
Kim's daughter, Assistant Inspector Kim Seong-eun, followed her father into the force and now serves as a police officer. She will attend this year's Police Day ceremony with her younger brother and accept the Police Hero plaque on her father's behalf.
The agency plans to erect memorial sculptures honoring the two officers and hold unveiling ceremonies by the end of this year.
"More than half a century separates the eras in which these two heroes served, but the values they sought to protect were no different at all," an agency official said. "Their willingness to put the lives and safety of the public above all else shows a duty that does not change with the times."