Coast Guard Headquarters to Improve Working Conditions for Investigation Police... Expanded Rewards Including Team-wide Promotions

The Korea Coast Guard is working to improve the treatment and working conditions of police officers in the investigation field to strengthen investigative capabilities.

The Coast Guard recently announced on the 5th that, as drug smuggling via the sea is increasing and criminal activities are becoming more sophisticated and internationalized, the crime investigation activities of the maritime police are more important than ever, and they plan to promote measures accordingly.

Accordingly, the Coast Guard has recently gathered opinions from frontline investigative police officers through workshops and plans to enhance training to cultivate professional investigators and expand rewards.

In particular, they plan to strengthen specialized training in the fields of drugs and forensic investigation, and for the first time, promote special promotions for all team members. They will also replace old vehicles and additionally introduce drug enforcement equipment to establish an investigation support system.

Since 2019, the Coast Guard has been operating the 'investigation experience' requirement for working in investigative departments. Among the total 12,200 maritime police officers (excluding civilian positions), 1,350 hold investigation experience, and as of this year, 937 are currently working in investigative departments.

However, since the implementation of the 2021 prosecution and police investigation authority adjustment, not only the National Police Agency but also the Coast Guard have seen a tendency to avoid investigative departments due to workload overload and other reasons.

Jang In-sik, Director of the Investigation Bureau of the Coast Guard, said, "We will form a dedicated task force to ensure the treatment of investigative police officers is practically improved and check the progress quarterly," adding, "We will provide fair compensation to investigative police officers who silently carry out their duties with responsibility despite difficult conditions."

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