National Police Agency Conducts 2026 Work Report... "Riot Police to Be Regularly Deployed for Public Safety"

The National Police Agency announced on January 12 that it had conducted the "2026 Work Report," which was attended by Minister of the Interior and Safety, Hoon Young.

National Police Agency.

Unlike the usual reporting format, this work report brought together not only the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which oversees national safety, and the National Police Agency, which is responsible for public security, but also the Korea Road Traffic Authority, which is in charge of road traffic safety; the Korea Association for Firearms and Explosives Safety Technology, responsible for firearms and explosives safety; and the Police Mutual Aid Association, which supports the welfare and working conditions of active police officers.

The National Police Agency has established three main objectives: a "democratic police force that works with the people," "police investigations trusted by the public," and a "public safety police force that protects citizens." To achieve these, the agency has formulated 39 policy tasks and 127 action items across six sectors.

This year, the National Police Agency announced that it will shift the paradigm of its response to assemblies and demonstrations, as well as its personnel management, based on the Constitution and the law. The role of the police will be shifted from a "preventive and preemptive maintenance of order" to a "supplementary and post-incident role." Except for essential needs, riot police units will be deployed regularly in public safety areas such as crime prevention and response, as well as crowd and disaster management.

Regarding false information and hate speech online, the National Police Agency is actively responding, from requesting deletion and blocking to conducting investigations. The agency also plans to operate an intensive crackdown period on "crimes involving the dissemination of false information" until October this year.