National Police Agency (Republic of Korea)

Korean National Police Agency
Korean name
Hangul	경찰청
Hanja
Revised Romanization	Gyeongchalcheong
McCune–Reischauer	Kyŏngch'alch'ŏng
Common name	Korean National Police
Abbreviation	KNPA
Patch of the Korean National Police Agency
Logo of the Korean National Police Agency
Badge of the Korean National Police Agency
Flag of the Korean National Police Agency
Agency overview
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
National agency	South Korea
General nature	Law enforcement Local civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	Migeun-dong, Seodaemun, Seoul
Police officers	101,108 (2010)
Elected officer responsible	Gang sin-myung, Commissioner General
Local police agencys	16 Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Busan Police Agency Daegu Police Agency Incheon Police Agency Daejeon Police Agency Gwangju Police Agency Ulsan Police Agency Gyeonggi Police Agency Gangwon Police Agency North Chungcheong Police Agency South Chungcheong Police Agency North Jeolla Police Agency South Jeolla Police Agency North Gyeongsang Police Agency South Gyeongsang Police Agency Jeju Police Agency
Website
Official website

The Korean National Police Agency (KNPA), also known as the Korean National Police (KNP), is one of a few police organizations in South Korea and is run under the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs. As a national police force it provides all policing services throughout the country. The National Park Services also have their own police organizations, as does the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation to police the railroad system.

The NPA is headquartered in Migeun-dong, Seodaemun, Seoul. The agency is divided into 17 local police agencies, including the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Local police agencies are not independent of the national police. There were 106,898 police officers as of 2015^[update].

Following the Saenuri Party's victory during the 2012 election the jurdistiction of the police in investigations was weakened, and that of the prosecutors strengthened.

The Combat Police division of the National Police Agency is an anti-riot paramilitary unit, of military conscripts. Its members deal with counterintelligence and riot policing. It was established in 1967, during the Third Republic. Each battalion is assigned to a municipal police agency in the country. In their riot gear, they were once identified by their signature metal riot shields which are numbered such as "1001" or "1011", and on their helmets with the NPA emblem. Now the police use modern tactical clear plastic shields and now deploy high-powered water cannons to minimize civilian injuries. Two weeks of training are taken by each draftee.