Rep. Lee Hyung-seok Leaves Police Security Center 30% Public Funds Leaking as 'Empty House Center' Neglected

"Comprehensive Survey Needed for Efficient Management of National Property Police Centers"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] More than three out of ten nationwide security centers established for close-contact public service are left abandoned like empty houses, yet the National Police Agency has spent more on operating these centers than the originally allocated budget.

On the 29th, Lee Hyung-seok, a member of the National Assembly (Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangju Buk-gu Eul), revealed the results of the 2021 fiscal year National Police Agency settlement review, stating that more than three out of ten nationwide security centers have no resident personnel assigned, effectively leaving them abandoned like empty houses.

In 2004, the National Police Agency consolidated police substations into district police stations and converted the buildings previously operated as substations into security centers to provide convenience for local residents, such as civil complaint consultations.

Security centers are used as civil complaint consultation facilities primarily operating during daytime hours, not on a 24-hour shift system.

As of the end of May this year, there are a total of 979 National Police Agency security centers nationwide, of which 326 locations, accounting for 33%, have no resident personnel assigned due to manpower shortages, failing to fulfill their roles.

Although a significant number of security centers are ineffectively operated, the National Police Agency allocated about 2.3 billion KRW for the operation budget of security centers across 17 city and provincial police agencies in the 2021 fiscal year but actually spent about 2.8 billion KRW on operating expenses.

Despite security centers not fulfilling their roles, spending more on operating costs than the allocated budget has raised concerns about budget waste.

Assemblyman Lee Hyung-seok said, “A thorough investigation is needed to accurately identify the reasons why security centers nationwide are being neglected, and prompt measures should be taken to ensure efficient management of national property and to prevent unnecessary operating cost waste.”

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