National Police Agency chief to retire June 30

Taipei, June 23 (CNA) National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chen Ja-chin (陳家欽) has applied for early retirement effective June 30, Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said Thursday.

At a press conference, Lo said that while Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) had "fully supported" Chen's leadership of the agency since 2017 and was sorry to see him retire, he "respected" his reasons for doing so.

According to Lo, Chen's decision to step down ahead of his scheduled July 2023 retirement was based in part on his desire to leave important personnel decisions to his successor.

More than 20 high-ranking police officials are set to reach retirement age this July and next January, Lo said, including the deputy director of the NPA as well as police chiefs and deputies in Taiwan's six biggest cities.

Chen also wanted to give his successor adequate time to prepare for security around the January 2024 presidential elections, rather than handing over the reins just six months before they took place, Lo said.

Lo said Chen's application for retirement would be handled by the Examination Yuan -- the government branch which oversees civil servants -- and did not need to be approved by the Cabinet.

Meanwhile, Lo declined to confirm media reports stating that Kaohsiung police chief Huang Ming-chao (黃明昭) would be appointed to fill the NPA's director-general position, saying only that the government would work to find the most suitable candidate and make an announcement once a decision was made.