Impeachment Crisis... Number of Provincial Riot Police Dispatched to Seoul Tripled

Yang Bunam: "Security Vacuums in the Provinces... Solutions Needed"

Assemblyman Yang Bumnam.

Recently, amid the ongoing 'impeachment political situation,' the number of deployments of provincial police riot squads to support Seoul has surged more than threefold.

The burden on the police has increased due to a rise in protests, as there has not been a sufficient increase in police officers and the mandatory conscripted police system (Uigyeong) has also been abolished. Some point out that concerns raised at the time of the Uigyeong abolition are now becoming reality.

According to an analysis by Yang Bunam, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Gwangju Seo-gu-eul), based on data submitted by the National Police Agency, the number of provincial riot squads deployed to Seoul has skyrocketed more than threefold since Uigyeong duties were transferred to the riot squads.

During the period when the Uigyeong system was in place (2020?2022), the number of provincial riot squad deployments supporting Seoul was 579 in 2020, 546 in 2021, and 588 in 2022, averaging around 571 per year. However, after the duties were shifted to the riot squads in 2023, the numbers rose sharply: 1,721 in 2023 and 1,823 in 2024. In May 2023 alone, when the last Uigyeong completed service, there were 410 supporting units in a single month.

While the COVID-19 pandemic played a role, many argue that the abolition of the Uigyeong system is the main cause. According to statistics released by the National Police Agency, the number of rallies managed by the police in 2023 was 10,431, similar to 10,293 in 2022, but the number of riot squad deployments increased significantly.

An official from a provincial police agency explained, "The increase in police officers has been far from sufficient compared to the former Uigyeong, making it difficult to handle situations in Seoul with only local personnel," adding, "With a greater emphasis on human rights, protests that could be controlled by 10 officers in the past now require 20, and even that is sometimes not enough."

Police officers belonging to provincial riot squads traveling to and from Seoul also expressed fatigue. One officer from a provincial riot squad said, "Business trips to Seoul have greatly increased," adding, "There is no separate waiting area at the site, so we have to stay on the bus for long hours, and when working overnight shifts, there are often no proper places to wash, which makes things very difficult."

Yang emphasized, "The sharp increase in deployments of police riot squads to support Seoul inevitably leads to a security vacuum in the provinces," and added, "Since rallies and protests are expected to continue, the government must address the imbalance in police force deployment, thoroughly examine the impact on public safety, and come up with appropriate measures."