Full Mobilization of Police Capabilities, Proactive Preventive Operations Launched
The police will implement special public safety measures for the Lunar New Year holiday. During major holidays, physical contact among family members and couples increases, which leads to a sharp rise in so-called "relationship-based crimes" such as domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking, while public anxiety also grows due to serious crimes and major traffic accidents. In response, the police plan to concentrate all available capabilities to strengthen public safety activities.
The National Police Agency announced on the 8th that it will implement the "2026 Lunar New Year Holiday Special Public Safety Measures" for ten days from the 9th to the 18th. Although this year's holiday period is five days, similar to previous years, the police expect a significant surge in demand for public safety because homecoming and return trips, as well as family gatherings, will be concentrated in a short period of time. Accordingly, the police plan to focus their capabilities on front-line operations.
First, in addition to 50,000 local police officers and 2,000 members of the mobile patrol unit, the police will deploy 2,480 members of the riot police and all other available personnel to public safety sites in order to strengthen visible patrols. They also plan to closely cooperate with volunteer security organizations, including 100,000 members of the autonomous crime prevention unit, to eliminate blind spots in public safety. In addition, with the Crime Prevention Officer (CPO) teams at the center, they will carefully identify and address crime- and accident-prone risk factors within each jurisdiction. At the same time, to ensure that residents feel safe, they will designate patrol routes focusing on vulnerable locations and combine fixed-point duties with coordinated patrols, concentrating on preventive activities.
In particular, the mobile patrol units will assign dedicated missions to each team, such as "response to relationship-based crimes" and "prevention of alcohol-induced violence." Before the holiday, they will focus on businesses vulnerable to robbery and theft, such as financial institutions, and during the holiday period they will adjust working hours to match public safety demand, concentrating on crowded areas such as train stations and bus terminals for flexible response.
For relationship-based crimes such as domestic violence and stalking, which surge during the holiday season, the police will conduct a full review of households with a risk of repeat offenses and other high-risk individuals before the holiday, in order to block risk factors in advance. When an incident occurs, the 112 Situation Room will serve as the command center, and local police, detectives, and mobile patrol units will be dispatched simultaneously to mount an all-out response.
Acting Commissioner General Yoo Jaeseong of the National Police Agency said, "We will mobilize all the capabilities of the police so that the public can enjoy a safe and pleasant holiday," adding, "We will focus on making this Lunar New Year holiday the safest ever from crime and accidents."
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