Increased Investment in Preventing Everyday Crimes... Police Organization Restructuring Budget Raised by 18.7 Billion KRW

The government has decided to increase investments to prevent crimes affecting the public. It plans to reorganize the police force by integrating first-class police stations and expand support for the treatment and protection of drug addicts.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced on the 21st that the 2024 budget bill containing these measures was approved at the National Assembly plenary session.

First, the government increased the budget for reorganizing the police force with a field-oriented approach by 18.7 billion KRW. This includes establishing metropolitan mobile patrol units and criminal mobile units, as well as integrating first-class police stations. The budget for introducing 11 additional personal scanners at airports and ports was also increased by 4.4 billion KRW.

Additionally, the budget to expand support for drug addict treatment and protection institutions was increased by 1.7 billion KRW. The Ministry of Economy and Finance explained that currently there are only two such institutions nationwide, and this increase reflects the growing number of patients requiring treatment. This is part of an effort to strengthen incentives for drug treatment.

The budget to prevent safety accidents in everyday life was also increased. To prevent safety accidents during commuting, 7.5 billion KRW was added to fully improve escalators without reverse running prevention facilities outside of subways. In particular, a new budget of 12.6 billion KRW was allocated to enable small-scale business operators to receive safety management consulting from joint safety management experts. This is because supporting small workplaces in advance is necessary for the smooth implementation of the Serious Accident Punishment Act.

The defense and veterans affairs budget to strengthen advanced military power, including reinforcing the Korean-style three-axis system, was also significantly increased. The government newly allocated 252.6 billion KRW for projects such as Boramae (Yangsan) and laser anti-aircraft weapons, for which preliminary procedures have been completed. Furthermore, the budget to greatly expand academic life support funds for ROTC officers before commissioning was increased by 7.4 billion KRW. Currently, 80,000 KRW per month is supported for 8 months, but from next year, 180,000 KRW per month will be supported for up to 10 months.