David Cho is an American security officer and former U.S. Secret Service agent who was the

Special Agent In Charge In the United States, a special agent is an official title used to refer to certain investigators or detectives of federal, military, tribal, or state agencies who primarily serve in criminal investigatory positions. Additionally, some special ...

of the Presidential Protective Division detail for

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

. Prior to the

Biden Administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

, Cho served as leader of the Presidential Protective Division detail for President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. During the Trump Administration, Cho was second in-command of the protective detail. He became the first South Korean-American Special Agent In Charge of a president's Secret Service detail in January 2021. Cho was appointed head of Biden's security detail after several agents were removed from Biden's detail over concerns of loyalty to Biden's political rival, Trump. In January 2022 Cho started working as deputy head of security for

Citadel LLC Citadel LLC (formerly known as Citadel Investment Group, LLC) is an American multinational hedge fund and financial services company. Founded in 1990 by Kenneth Griffin, it has more than $65 billion in assets under management . The company has ...

Career

In 2019, Cho received the "Exceptional Service Medal" from the

Secretary of Homeland Security The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the U ...

. He was recognized for negotiating with North Korean officials for arranging security for Trump for both summits with Kim Jong Un, specifically, "for tireless and direct participation in high-level negotiations with the leaders of the

Democratic People's Republic of Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

, planning all security details for both Presidential visits to that country, while simultaneously leading the men and women of the Presidential Protective Division at the White House." Cho appeared at the

Inauguration of Joe Biden The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States took place on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, on the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. It was the 59th inauguration and marked the commencement o ...

as the head of Biden's Secret Service detail and previously appeared at multiple events alongside Trump. In the wake of the inauguration, Cho's leadership of the Presidential Protective Division was praised by observers as demonstrating the inclusion of racial minorities in sensitive U.S. government positions. However, throughout the inauguration, many far-right conspiracy theorists falsely accused Cho of being a "Chinese handler" due to his race and Cho's proximity to Biden throughout the Inauguration. Per Secret Service practice, the head of the Presidential Protective Division maintains close proximity to the President at all times – including travelling in the front passenger seat of the presidential limousine and with the President on Marine One and Air Force One during all domestic and foreign trips. On December 9, 2021, it was announced that Cho would be retiring from the Secret Service to take a job with Citadel, billionaire

Kenneth C. Griffin Kenneth Cordele Griffin (born October 15, 1968) is an American hedge fund manager, entrepreneur and investor. He is the founder, chief executive officer, co- chief investment officer, and 80% owner of Citadel LLC, a multinational hedge fund. He ...

’s $43 billion

hedge fund A hedge fund is a Pooling (resource management), pooled investment fund that holds Market liquidity, liquid assets and that makes use of complex trader (finance), trading and risk management techniques to aim to improve investment performance and ...

. Cho started as

's deputy head of security on January 3, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cho, David United States Secret Service agents Living people Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign Law enforcement officials from Washington, D.C. Biden administration personnel First Trump administration personnel Year of birth missing (living people)

Career

See also

References