National Police Agency (Republic of Korea)

National Police Agency (Republic of Korea)
Korean National Police Agency
Korean name
Hangul 경찰청
Hanja
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
NPA Headquarters building in Seoul

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.

Contents

Local police agencies

  • Seoul Police Agency with 31 police stations and 24,736 police officers
  • Busan Police Agency with 14 police stations and 7,736 police officers
  • Daegu Police Agency with 8 police stations and 4,499 police officers
  • Incheon Police Agency with 8 police stations and 4,437 police officers
  • Daejeon Police Agency with 5 police stations and 2274 police officers[2]
  • Gwangju Police Agency with 5 police stations and 3895 police officers[2]
  • Ulsan Police Agency with 3 police stations and 1,829 police officers
  • Gyeonggi Police Agency with 30 police stations and 12,483 police officers
  • Gangwon Police Agency with 17 police stations and 3,694 police officers
  • Chungbuk (North Chungcheong) Police Agency with 11 police stations and 2,901 police officers
  • Chungnam (South Chungcheong) Police Agency 19 police stations and 5,808 police officers
  • Jeonbuk (North Jeolla) Police Agency with 15 police stations and 4,498 police officers
  • Jeonnam (South Jeolla) Police Agency with 26 police stations and 7,408 police officers
  • Gyeongbuk (North Gyeongsang) Police Agency with 24 police stations and 5,765 police officers
  • Gyeongnam (South Gyeongsang) Police Agency with 22 police stations and 5,589 police officers
  • Jeju Police Agency with 2 police stations and 1,282 police officers

Combat police

Riot Police of the SMPA stand ready with riot shields

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]

Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT)

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.

  • Seoul Police Agency : 4 squadrons
  • Busan Police Agency : 1 squadron
  • Daegu Police Agency : 1 squadron
  • Incheon Police Agency : 1 squadron
  • Chungnam (South Chungcheong) Police Agency : 1 squadron
  • Jeonnam (South Jeolla) Police Agency : 1 squadron
  • Jeju Police Agency : 1 squadron

See also

References

  1. ^ Home page. Korean National Police Agency. Retrieved on April 30, 2010. "Korean National Police Agency, Uiju-ro 91(Migeun-dong 209) Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-704."
  2. ^ a b Chung, Woochun; Chang-Hee Kim (July 4, 2007). "Regional Police Agency opens in Daejeon and Gwangju" (in Korean). Munhwa Ilbo. http://www.munhwa.com/news/view.html?no=2007070401037443061002. Retrieved 2007-07-19. 
  3. ^ a b Police brutality against protesting farmers must end Asian Human Rights Commission retrieved August 3, 2007
  4. ^ a b In South Korea, protesting is an occupation International Herald Tribune, retrieved August 3, 2007
  5. ^ Anti-US protesters clash with South Korean riot police Taipei Times retrieved August 3, 2007

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • National Police Agency (Republic of China) — National Police Agency Strength Force Size 68,818 (2004) Local Pop. 23,036,087 Headquarters …   Wikipedia

  • National Police Agency FC — National Police Agency 경찰청 Full name National Police Agency Football Club 경찰청 축구단 Founded 1996 Ground Korea National Pol …   Wikipedia

  • National Police Agency — There is a National Police Agency in several countries, including:*Congolese National Police in the Democratic Republic of the Congo *National Police (France) *National Police Agency (Japan) *National Police Agency (South Korea) *National Police… …   Wikipedia

  • National Police Agency (Taiwan) — The National Police Agency (zh t|t=內政部警政署) is an agency under the Ministry of the Interior, Republic of China (Taiwan), which oversees all Taiwan police forces on a national level. The National Police Agency is headquartered in Taipei City.Police …   Wikipedia

  • National Police Agency (South Korea) — Infobox Law enforcement agency agencyname = National Police Agency nativename = nativenamea = 경찰청 (Hangul) linktext|警|察|廳 (Hanja) nativenamer = Gyeongchalcheong (Revised romanization) Kyŏngch alch ŏng (McCune Reischauer) commonname = abbreviation …   Wikipedia

  • National police — is generally the primary law enforcement agency of a country, see below: Afghan National Police Bolivarian National Police Federal Bureau of Investigation Haitian National Police Icelandic National Police Indonesian National Police National… …   Wikipedia

  • National Immigration Agency — or (NIA) (Traditional Chinese:內政部入出國及移民署) is the statutory agency under the Ministry of Interior which is responsible for immigration, entry and exit security, border services, citizenship, visas, and registration of foreigners transiting the… …   Wikipedia

  • National Intelligence Agency (South Africa) — National Intelligence Agency Logo of South Africa s National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Agency overview Formed January 1, 1994; 17 years ago ( …   Wikipedia

  • National Police of East Timor — Policia Nacional de Timor Leste Abbreviation PNTL Coat of Arms of the National Police of East Timor …   Wikipedia

  • National Police of Iceland — Icelandic National Police Ríkislögreglan Official insignia Motto Með lögum skal land byggja …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”