Police are pushing to revive the intelligence divisions at local police stations nationwide that were abolished two years ago. The move aims to strengthen the organization and workforce to eradicate cross-border crimes such as kidnapping and confinement that occurred in Cambodia.
The Korean National Police Agency on the 30th reported to Wi Sung-gon of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, on its "police organization restructuring plan to strengthen capabilities for international policing cooperation."
In the report, the Korean National Police Agency said it would expand the agency's International Cooperation Bureau, which currently serves the role of the Foreign Affairs Bureau, into the International Policing Cooperation Bureau, and raise its commander's rank by one grade to senior superintendent general. It will increase international cooperation staff by 70 to 80 and add more than 30 police officers dispatched to Southeast Asia.
The intelligence system will be reverted from the current metropolitan intelligence system centered on city and provincial police agencies to a local intelligence system at the police station level. The intent is to strengthen capabilities for local intelligence and information on foreign residents. Earlier, in 2023, police abolished intelligence divisions at all but 63 of the 261 police stations nationwide under the banner of "strengthening frontline policing." Personnel were assigned to metropolitan intelligence teams under city and provincial police agencies.
The Korean National Police Agency said, "As intelligence activities shifted to a metropolitan focus, a distance emerged from everyday public life, creating obstacles in identifying local safety risk factors and sensitive conflict situations." Representative failures cited included the protest against Dongduk Women's University's "transition to coeducation" and the North Gyeongsang wildfires.
Police will form a "public safety and police organization restructuring task force (TF)," draw up a reform plan by November, and reflect it starting with personnel appointments in the first half of next year.