Immigration Department | This week reaches the retirement age of 57, Guo Junfeng reportedly remains as Director

According to local media reports, Kuo Chun-feng, the Commissioner of Immigration Services, who reached the retirement age of 57 this week, has been reappointed, at least until June 30 next year when the current government term ends, with the government expected to announce it as early as today.

Kuo Chun-feng was born in 1969. After completing secondary education in Hong Kong, he went to Australia to obtain a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and later obtained a master’s degree in public administration from HKU.

Kuo Chun-feng joined the Immigration Department in 1989, serving as an Assistant Immigration Officer, was promoted to Principal Immigration Officer in 2009, promoted to Assistant Commissioner of Immigration in 2020, appointed Deputy Commissioner in 2022, and in 2023 succeeded the retired Ou Ka-wang to become the Commissioner of Immigration Services. During his tenure, he is best known for “poaching talent,” successfully inviting world-class table tennis players such as Olympic table tennis king O’Sullivan and Wang Linpu to become Hong Kong residents.

When Kuo Chun-feng attended this year’s annual review press conference in February, he was asked about his “retirement plans.” He said he had not yet had time to consider future arrangements and would leave them to his wife, continuing to focus on his work at the Immigration Department.

The normal retirement age for heads of disciplined forces in Hong Kong is generally 57. The former Commissioner of Police Stephen Shiu was also reappointed for two more years upon reaching the age of 57, only officially retiring in April last year.

Former Commissioner of Immigration Services Alex Tsang Ka-wai assumed the position of Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs in April 2020. After resigning in January this year, political circles speculated that Kuo Chun-feng could be one of the candidates to succeed as the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs.

The information shows that the previous Immigration Department Commissioner who joined the government after retirement is the current Chief Secretary for Administration, Chen Kwok-kei. Leung Chuk-ying and Li Dong-guang previously served as the Secretary for Security, while Bai Yung-luk became the Independent Commission Against Corruption commissioner after retirement.