"Lunar New Year Holiday" 112 Calls Up 8%...7,921 Violent and Robbery Suspects Arrested

Police Deploy 310,000 Officers for "Lunar New Year Public Safety"

There were no major incidents or accidents during this year's Lunar New Year holiday, but 112 emergency calls increased by more than 8% compared with the same period a year earlier. Based on rapid response, the police apprehended nearly 8,000 criminal suspects.

The National Police Agency announced that during the "Lunar New Year Holiday Special Public Safety Measures" period from the 9th to the 18th, there were no major incidents or accidents, but 112 calls increased by 8.6% year-on-year. Average daily traffic volume on expressways reached 5,638,000 vehicles, up 22.6% from the previous year, and key public safety demands also showed an overall increase, including crime reports (14.1%), public order maintenance (11.3%), and traffic-related reports (19.3%).

On the 14th, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday, the platforms at Gangnam Express Bus Terminal in Seocho-gu, Seoul are bustling with bus passengers. Yonhap News

The police explained that they concentrated a cumulative total of 310,621 officers nationwide (an average of 31,062 per day) at sites related to public safety and mobilized all units, including riot police, local police, mobile patrol units, detectives, and traffic police, for an all-out response.

First, to respond to serious crimes, the number of nighttime detectives was increased by 43.1% compared with normal times so that they could swiftly apprehend suspects when major incidents occurred, and an all-out response system was maintained, centered on the 112 Situation Room, to enable rapid action by all units. As a result, 7,921 criminal suspects, including those involved in violence, robbery, and theft, were apprehended.

In addition, focusing on the Crime Prevention Officer (CPO) teams, the police inspected and improved 3,304 crime-prone sites, and conducted preemptive monitoring of 20,259 individuals deemed at risk of committing repeat relationship-based crimes. For 4,306 people classified as high-risk, the police initiated "intensive management," under which all units, including detectives, respond with full force whenever a 112 call involving them is received.

A National Police Agency official said, "By deploying a cumulative total of more than 310,000 officers to the field, including additional riot police, and by strengthening preemptive inspections of crime-prone factors and visible patrol activities, we were able to maintain stable public safety without major incidents or accidents," adding, "We will build a safer society through prevention-centered policing activities."