Daegu Police Discuss Public Safety Policies with Citizens

From Provider-Driven to Citizen-Led Promotion
A New Model for Police Communication Emerges in Daegu

Daegu police have launched a new public safety promotion experiment that puts citizens at the center. Moving away from the traditional one-way communication model, where the police explain and promote their policies, they have begun operating a participatory model in which citizens themselves create and disseminate public safety content.

Seunghyup Lee, Chief of Daegu Police Agency, held the 'Daegu POL Promotion Supporters 1st Launch Ceremony' on the 27th at the headquarters Muhakmaru, and after awarding certificates of appointment to the 50 finally selected citizens, took a commemorative photo.

On the 27th, the Daegu Police Agency held the "Daegu POL Promotion Supporters 1st Launch Ceremony" at the headquarters' Muhakmaru, awarding certificates of appointment to 50 citizens who were finally selected.

These supporters will produce content focused on three key themes: establishing basic order in traffic, daily life, and the livelihood economy, as well as preventing large-scale fraud. They will serve as a bridge for communication between the police and the public.

◆ From 'provider-driven promotion' to 'citizen-led promotion'

Until now, police promotion has been largely limited to press releases highlighting the agency's achievements. However, this group of supporters is fundamentally different in that they transform inconveniences and dangers experienced by citizens into content using language from the field.

For example, a short video can become a campaign urging compliance with crosswalk stop lines, and a university student supporter's social media post can serve as a warning about new types of scams. This goes beyond simple promotion, demonstrating the potential for citizens themselves to turn public safety policies into a shared resource.

◆ Participation spanning generations and professions, from teens to those in their 60s

A total of 89 people applied for this recruitment, and 50 were finally selected from a diverse pool that included influencers, citizen journalists, teachers, and students.

Notably, the group includes an influencer with 37,000 subscribers, a citizen journalist who has received the Daegu Mayor's Award, a current elementary school teacher, and high school students. This shows that police policy promotion is no longer limited to a particular age group, but aims for empathy and dissemination across generations.

◆ "The Daegu model could spread nationwide"

Experts believe that this initiative could develop into a national model, rather than remaining a simple local promotion. If Daegu's pioneering experiment with citizen supporters is successfully established, there is a strong possibility that police organizations across the country will adopt "citizen participation promotion" as a new standard.

Seunghyup Lee, Chief of the Daegu Police Agency, emphasized, "Through a structure where citizens directly voice their opinions, the police will become more approachable and public safety administration will become more transparent. This will be a turning point where citizens, as the demand side, take the lead in policy, moving beyond supplier-centered promotion."

This "Daegu POL Promotion Supporters" initiative is not just a one-time event, but an experimental project in which the police organization has chosen to innovate its communication methods. In Korean society, public safety administration has long carried an authoritative image, but as citizens directly create content and provide feedback, this could become the starting point for a "citizen police era."

This is a "participatory democratic public safety model" that goes beyond promotion, and it remains to be seen whether it will become a decisive turning point in building trust within the local community in the future.