Commission hires new Guam chief medical examiner, Dr. Kenny Su, for $462K
Dr. Keng-Chih "Kenny" Su accepted an offer from the Guam Post Mortem Commission Wednesday to be the island's next chief medical examiner at an annual base salary of $350,000 plus 32.2 % in benefits, bringing the total compensation to $462,700.
The amount could still go up to $512,700.
Su appeared via Zoom during the commission meeting for an interview and to negotiate a proposed salary.
Attorney General Douglas Moylan, chairman of the commission, said they had the ability to offer Su the $350,000 salary that was appropriated in the recently signed fiscal 2025 budget, but would also request the Legislature to appropriate an additional $50,000 in the supplemental budget bill.
That would raise Su's base pay to $400,000 a year, which Su agreed to, and the total compensation to more than a half-million dollars.
The previous chief medical examiner, Dr. Jeffrey Nine, had a base pay of $310,000, according to PDN files.
'Stay for a long time'
Commission members questioned Su about his interest in coming to Guam, and that they'd like the next chief medical examiner to "stay for a long time."
"I'm looking for a long term working relationship," Su said.
He said he liked that Guam is just a 3.5-hour flight to Taiwan, where he can be closer to his 90-year-old mother.
Su had applied for the chief medical examiner position in 2021 when it became vacant after the retirement of longtime CME, Dr. Aurelio Espinola, in 2019.
He eventually turned down an offer because his children were still in high school. Su said now that they are in college, he and his wife are able to move to Guam.
Su's official start date will be Oct. 28. His medical license to practice on Guam has already been approved, he said.
He will replace Nine, who stepped down and moved back to the mainland U.S. in April for family reasons, after a little over a year on the job.
Nine has been working remotely in a consulting capacity and is expected to resign from that on Oct. 31.
More about Su
Su has been the chief medical examiner for Collin County, Texas, which is part of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, since 2023. He said it is a "mid-size" office with 15 employees, including another medical examiner, eight investigators, and three autopsy technicians.
He previously worked as a medical examiner in Los Angeles from 2014 to 2017, and in Sacramento from 2017 to 2023. Su is originally from Taiwan, where he attended Taiwan Medical University.
Su said he did his residency at Indiana University Health system, and also graduated from a Neuropathy fellowship at the University of California, Los Angeles.
