| Korean National Police Agency |
|
| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 경찰청 |
| Hanja | 警察廳 |
| Revised Romanization | Gyeongchalcheong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kyŏngch'alch'ŏng |
| Abbreviation | KNPA |
| Agency overview | |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| National agency | South Korea |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Migeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul |
| Police officers | 96,000 (2004) |
| Elected officer responsible | Cho Hyun-oh, Commissioner |
| Local police agencies |
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The Korean National Police Agency, or KNPA, is the only police organization in South Korea and is run under the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs. As a national police force it provides all policing services throughout the country. This differs from the situation in many countries including France, where policing is split between the National Police and Gendarmerie, and between countries such as the United States which have a layered system of National, State/Regional and/or local Law Enforcement organizations.
The NPA is headquartered in Migeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.[1] The agency is divided into 14 local police agencies, including the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Local police agencies are not independent of the national police. There were 96,000 police officers as of 2004[update].
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The Combat Police division of the National Police Agency is an anti-riot paramilitary unit, drafted from military conscripts. Its members deal with counterintelligence and riot policing. It was established in 1967, during the Third Republic. Each battalion is assigned to each municipal police agency in the country. In their riot gear, they can be identified by their signature metal riot shields which are numbered such as "1001" or "1011", and on their helmets with the NPA emblem. 2 weeks of training are taken by each draftee.
The Combat Police are deployed at demonstrations and rallies where violent disorder may occur. When such an event becomes violent they rush in and contain the protestors with long batons and often, their metal shields. When blocking the pass of illegal protesters, the Combat Police use the "Passive Formation", where the shields are held up to make a small wall. This is the most frequent formation used. However, they are trained to retaliate from the frequent attacks by protesters by angling the shield and pushing, or jabbing the shield at protestors in this formation.
When they are ordered to contain a protest that has become too violent, such as the North Korea-aligned student group Hanchongryun's firebombing tactics, they use the "Offensive Formation". In this case, the shields are angled sideways, with the officers charging forward to break the riot.
Instances of police brutality have in the past been raised against the South Korean anti-riot units in particular, by the Asian Human Rights Commission, citing police actions of a "brutal and violent manner" that cause deaths among protesters, including Jeon Young-Cheol on November 24, 2005.[3] The South Korean President, Roh Moo Hyun, later apologised for this violence.[4] The report also cites injuries sustained by protesters during July 2004 protests against a new military base for the US Army.[3] The police force themselves reported that 117 officers were injured against 70 protesters, after being hit "with shards of broken bottles and flower vases".[5] Injuries to the riot police officers have themselves become reason for protest, with one in every 53 officers being injured in 2005, the number of injuries having raised to 893 from 331 in 2000.[4]
The KNP SWAT is a specialized unit to perform dangerous operations. The unit's main mission is counter-terrorism, but it also can include serving high-risk arrest warrants, performing hostage rescue and/or armed intervention, and engaging heavily-armed criminals.