Yoon appoints new Presidential Security Service chief

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Yoon appoints new Presidential Security Service chief

Published: 09 Sep. 2024, 16:52 Updated: 09 Sep. 2024, 17:06

Park Jong-joon, the new chief of Presidential Security Service, speaks during a press briefing at the presidential office in Seoul on Monday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Yoon Suk Yeol appointed a former top police official as the new chief of the Presidential Security Service (PSS), his office said Monday.

Park Jong-joon, who served as No. 2 at the National Police Agency and as deputy PSS chief in the early 2010s, was appointed after former PSS chief Kim Yong-hyun left to take over as defense minister.

Park graduated from the Korean National Police University in 1986 with top honors and was the youngest candidate to pass the higher civil service examination in 1985.

He has spent 26 years in various police positions, including deputy commissioner of the national police, before retiring in late 2011 and running unsuccessfully for the National Assembly in the 2012 general election.

From 2013 to 2015, he served as deputy chief of the PSS under then-President Park Geun-hye.

"The security of the president is an important task directly related to national security," Park said. "I will do my utmost to perform my duty flawlessly to ensure there are no gaps in the protection of the president."

Yonhap