Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Commissioner General Woo Jong-soo has been named as the new chief of the National Office of Investigation(NOI) overseeing investigative police officers nationwide.
President Yoon Suk Yeol appointed Woo on Monday, filling the seat that was left vacant for 30 days after former appointee Chung Sun-shin stepped down over a controversy surrounding his son’s bullying behavior at school.
National Police Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun recommended Woo to the president after mulling for nearly a month whether to recommend a figure from outside or inside the police force.
Set to begin his two-year term after receiving a letter of appointment from Yoon on Wednesday, Woo is regarded within the police community to be a figure of great leadership with a sense of inclusiveness.
The position of NOI chief is considered more influential than the national police commissioner general when it comes to investigations as he commands not only the heads of the nation’s 18 city and provincial police headquarters and stations but also some 30-thousand investigative police officers nationwide.