Key officials related to scientific policing cooperation from both countries attended the opening ceremony, including Kang Sang-gil, Director of Future Policing Policy Division of the National Police Agency; Cho Hyun-jin, Director of Science and Technology Development Division; Choi Gwi-won, Director of the Scientific Policing Promotion Center; Ingo Wunsch, President of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Criminal Investigation Office; Katja Kruse, Director of International Cooperation Division of the Ministry of the Interior Police Department; and Dominic Reese, Head of the Central Police Innovation Lab Center.
Opening ceremony of the Korea-Germany Scientific Policing Cooperation Center. [Photo by National Police Agency]
This is the first time a cooperation center for research and development in policing between police agencies has been established. It was carried out as a follow-up measure to the Joint Declaration of Intent (JDoI) signed on October 19 last year, which focused on revitalizing research and development in policing using science and technology between the two countries.
In November last year, Yoon Hee-geun, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, personally visited North Rhine-Westphalia to check the progress and solidify the intention to build and strengthen the cooperation foundation with the Minister of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The cooperation center will be jointly operated to share and develop excellent scientific policing research and development achievements of both countries and to strengthen mutual scientific policing capabilities. As part of its first cooperative project, both countries jointly participated in 'GPEC 2024,' Europe's largest private police equipment exhibition and information exchange academic conference.
Notably, domestic outstanding policing companies also attended the exhibition, such as SNT Motive, which developed a low-risk pistol that reduces the lethality of the existing 38 pistol to one-tenth using domestic technology, and Noah Ventures, which supports investigators' analysis of investigation data through artificial intelligence, showcasing the excellence of domestic technology in Germany.
In addition, the two countries held the 'Korea-Germany Scientific Policing Joint Seminar' to share the achievements of Korean scientific policing research and development, and engaged in in-depth discussions on the future vision of the 'Future Police Car' jointly under research and development by Korea and Germany.
Along with strengthening scientific policing capabilities, the two countries are promoting the dispatch of specialized investigators to enhance investigative capabilities such as investigation techniques. The dispatched specialized investigators from the National Police Agency will provide clues to solving major crimes in Germany based on their investigative capabilities and share key techniques.
Furthermore, from June 22 to July 5 last month, two investigators with specialized capabilities from the National Police Agency and Daejeon Police Agency were dispatched for 10 weeks to work alongside two investigators from the State Criminal Investigation Office, sharing joint research and investigative techniques in response to cybercrime. To support overall cooperation and discover joint agendas, Police Sergeant Han Seul-gi from the Future Policing Policy Bureau of the National Police Agency has been dispatched as a Project Manager for policing research and development projects.
In the second half of this year, the same number of personnel will be dispatched for 10 weeks, and every year joint research agendas will be discovered to produce results centered on the Korea-Germany Scientific Policing Cooperation Center.
Through this, it aims to establish a leading model for international joint research on cross-border and hyper-connected crimes and to develop into a foothold for the entry of research and development outcomes reflecting the investigative capabilities and advanced investigative techniques of the Korean police into Europe.
A National Police Agency official said, "The use of science and technology in the field of policing is becoming increasingly important, and cooperation between technologically equal powerhouses is expected to induce innovative growth," adding, "The establishment of the cooperation center will be the first step of K-Policing, which will efficiently and safely support responses to cross-border crimes based on science and technology and the work of police officers in each country."
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