Police have senior superintendent couple
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Koo Bon-suk, left, a head of 112 Operation room at the Mapo Police Station poses with her husband Kim Sung-sub, a Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency PR officer. They have become the police’s first superintendent couple. / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency
By Jhoo Dong-chan
The nation’s police have their first ever senior superintendent couple who built their career from the bottom up without graduating Korea National Police University.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Monday that it promoted Superintendent Koo Bon-suk, head of the 112 operations room at Mapo Police Station, to senior superintendent.
The promotion has made her and her husband a senior superintendent couple.
Koo’s husband Kim Sung-sub, 58, a public relations officer at the agency, was already promoted to the rank in 2011.
Koo, 57, was born in Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province. She graduated from Korea National Open University in 1977 after majoring public administration.
Koo joined the police after passing a recruitment exam for female officers following her graduation from college.
Koo and Kim met in 1977 when Kim was a member of the riot police at Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency.
The two were married in 1981 and pursued a career together as police officers.
“It is a great pleasure to give hope to fellow junior officers who are starting their police career,” Koo said. “We are going to do our best to be role models for young officers.”
Kim and Koo’s case is rare since it is difficult for officers without graduating from the police university to advance to the rank of senior superintendent.
Traditionally, officers from Korea National Police University have dominated high-ranking positions in the police.