Related Budget Already Secured... Pilot Operation Plan
Expected to Enhance Response Capability to Violent Crimes
[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] It was reported on the 13th that the police have begun reviewing additional purchases ahead of the field deployment of the 'low-risk pistol,' which has reduced lethality. It is expected that if more units are supplied to the front lines, the response capability to violent crimes will also improve.
Low-risk pistol (STRV9) under additional purchase review by police this year / Provided by SNT Motiv
According to the police, the National Police Agency plans to distribute low-risk pistols to frontline police units (police stations, district units, police boxes, etc.) in the second half of this year and is currently reviewing additional purchases. The National Police Agency purchased 100 low-risk pistols last December and secured a budget of 1.35 billion KRW for additional purchases this year. Considering that about 150 million KRW was spent to buy 100 units last year, the secured budget this year is expected to allow the purchase of approximately 900 more units.
The National Police Agency will first conduct field verification using the 100 low-risk pistols purchased last year. This is a procedure to confirm whether the performance and safety verified during the research and development phase are maintained and implemented in the mass production stage. Subsequently, combined with the additional low-risk pistols purchased, the agency plans to distribute them to frontline units starting in the latter half of this year and promote pilot operation.
The low-risk pistol is a 'Korean-style pistol' developed by the police over five years since 2016 with a total project cost of 3.4 billion KRW. It was developed in response to criticisms that the police were unable to adequately respond to increasingly violent crimes due to strict regulations and concerns over casualties when using firearms at crime scenes.
The low-risk pistol is manufactured to be about 20% lighter (540g) than the 38-caliber pistol (680g) currently supplied to frontline police by the American company Smith & Wesson. It possesses about one-tenth the physical force (35J) of the 38-caliber pistol, making it a weapon evaluated to minimize casualties while subduing suspects. Additionally, it is equipped with a 'smart module' device, equivalent to a vehicle black box, which stores information such as shooting time, location, and firing angle.
The police expect that the deployment of low-risk pistols to the front lines will reduce the burden of firearm use and enable more effective crime suppression. However, although the low-risk pistol is a non-lethal firearm, it can still cause injury upon discharge, and if it hits the upper body where vital organs are located, it could be life-threatening. Therefore, there are calls for clear guidelines.
The National Police Agency plans to review the need for legal amendments related to the introduction of low-risk pistols and establish relevant regulations. A National Police Agency official stated, "We are preparing for the field introduction of low-risk pistols by creating usage manuals and regulations this year," adding, "Since the current manuals and standards regarding firearm use were developed mainly around the 38-caliber pistol, we plan to review and revise them accordingly."
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