The chief of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency was appointed deputy commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA), police said Tuesday, effectively making him acting head of the national police force amid a prolonged vacancy in the top post. Kim Jong-chul was named to replace Yoo Jae-seong, who has served as acting KNPA commissioner for more than 20 months. The KNPA said it applied a regional avoidance principle in the reshuffle, under which senior officers are generally not assigned to their hometowns or regions where they have close ties, in an effort to strengthen impartiality and prevent corruption. As part of the reshuffle, 14 out of 18 national police agency chiefs in the city and province level, equivalent to 78 percent of the total, were replaced. Over 80 percent of senior superintendent general ranks were replaced in the personnel shakeup, according to officials. Ko Beom-seok was appointed the new chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, while Yu Seung-ryeol was promoted to head the Incheon Metropolitan Police chief. The KNPA said it plans to overhaul