National Police Agency and Interpol Join Forces to Eradicate 'Child Pornography and Voice Phishing'... First Funding Project

Tomorrow at the Police University, the 'Interpol Global Academy' Joining Ceremony
"Establishing the Status as a Central Country for Asian Security Cooperation"

At the 'Korean National Police Agency-Interpol Funding Project Signing Ceremony' held on the 11th at the police station in Migeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Min Gap-ryong, Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency (left), and J?rgen Stock, Secretary General of Interpol, are shaking hands. Photo by Korean National Police Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The Korean police have joined hands with Interpol (ICPO) to eradicate online 'child sexual exploitation materials' and voice phishing, among other 'cyber economic crimes.'

On the afternoon of the 11th, the National Police Agency held a funding project signing ceremony with Interpol at the police headquarters in Migeun-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. The ceremony was attended by Min Gap-ryong, Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, Jurgen Stock, Secretary General of Interpol, and other officials.

Following this funding project signing, starting next month, the Korean police and Interpol will mutually cooperate on ▲ international crime trend analysis ▲ sharing investigation techniques such as darknet and cryptocurrency ▲ joint arrests within the region ▲ blocking overseas bases of voice phishing criminal organizations. The National Police Agency will invest 1.53 billion KRW secured as contributions to international organizations to lead international cooperation within Interpol, coinciding with the inauguration of Kim Jong-yang as Interpol President. In response, Interpol will form and operate dedicated teams by field. Additionally, it plans to utilize Interpol's vast database, crime information analysis techniques, and cooperation networks across 194 member countries worldwide.

The funding project period is one year, from March this year to February next year. It can be renewed annually based on project performance. During this period, the Korean police and Interpol will focus on identifying and arresting distributors of online child sexual exploitation materials that have been filmed and distributed, transactions using darknet and virtual currencies, as well as identifying and rescuing victims. Considering regional connectivity, the dedicated team will be based at the Interpol International Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) in Singapore.

Regarding cyber economic crimes, they will focus on international financial crimes such as voice phishing and romance scams that occur in Korea. They will maintain constant cooperation with call center locations such as Cambodia and the Philippines, as well as major countries like China and Japan, sharing investigation techniques through expert groups to conduct joint analysis and arrests. The police plan to conduct intensive crackdowns in the first half of the year on voice phishing criminal organizations operating overseas bases in connection with the funding project.

At the signing ceremony, Commissioner General Min Gap-ryong said, "This is the first financial support case for the Korean police to lead multilateral international police cooperation as a core partner of Interpol," adding, "We will actively cooperate with Interpol and various member countries to ensure this leads to tangible security results in eradicating cyber child and financial crimes." Secretary General Jurgen Stock responded, "We expect the Korean police to play a leading role throughout the project based on their excellent capabilities."

Furthermore, on the 12th, Jurgen Stock, Secretary General of Interpol, is scheduled to visit the Korean National Police University and hold a signing ceremony for the 'Interpol Global Academy' with Lee Eun-jung, President of the Police University. The Interpol Global Academy is a system that designates police education institutions with outstanding capabilities in five continental regions as 'Global Academy Member Institutions' to spread Interpol education worldwide.

In May last year, Interpol designated the Colombian National Police University as the first 'Global Academy' in the Americas region, and the Korean National Police University, designated this time as the second, will be responsible for the Asia region. Interpol's Capacity Building and Training (CBT) department plans to complete the designation of five institutions worldwide this year and officially start Interpol-led education and training through the 'Global Academy' from next year.

An Interpol CBT official stated, "The Korean police have the know-how to successfully operate various security cooperation programs with neighboring countries," and added, "We expect the Korean National Police University to play a central role among the global 'Interpol Global Academy' member institutions."

A National Police Agency official said, "This designation as a Global Academy officially recognizes that our police possess excellent capabilities representing Asia in the international community," and expressed expectations that "by serving as a base to disseminate Interpol education programs to Asian police institutions in the future, it will be an important opportunity to establish Korea's status as a central country in security cooperation in the Asia region."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.