By Lee Jon-young

Daejeon Police Chief Chung Yong-geun recently applied for honorary retirement, raising questions about his future. On October 10, it was confirmed that he applied for retirement with one and a half years left until his retirement age.

There are analysts who believe that Commissioner Chung's application for retirement with one and a half years to go is a pavement for him to enter the political arena after retirement, and the possibility of his entering the political arena is increasing.

"I plan to return to my hometown and serve the community, but I haven't decided what form it will take," he said.

Weighing on the possibility of Commissioner Chung's entry into politics is the fact that the current Mayor of Chungju, Cho Gil-hyung (1st police academy graduate), is unable to run for the next local election due to the three-term limit, and he is able to communicate with Commissioner Chung, his junior in the police academy, and there is a possibility that the current Mayor of Chungju's chance to enter the National Assembly may be lost unless the general election is held next year, so the opinion that Commissioner Chung's honorary retirement is not unrelated.

A possible scenario for Chung's entry into politics is that if current Chungju Mayor Cho Gil-hyung contests next year's general election, the mayor's seat will become vacant, and Chung Yong-geun may be able to fill it.

Chung was born in 1965 in Chungju, Chungcheongbuk-do, and graduated from Chungju High School and the Police Academy (3rd class) and Hanyang University Graduate School of Public Administration. 

He joined the police force as a lieutenant in 1987 and served as a hearing audit officer in Busan, chief of Eumseong Police Station, and chief of Seoul Intelligence before being promoted to chief of public security in December 2020, where he served as director of the National Police Agency's Life Safety Bureau, chief of the Chungcheongbuk-do Police Agency, and chief of the National Police Agency's Traffic Bureau.