Law enforcement in South Korea

South Korea has a relatively unified and integrated approach to law enforcement. For example, the National Police Agency (NPA) provides all general policing services throughout the country. Due to the unitary system, local police organizations are directly under the NPA.

This way of law enforcement varies in many countries, an example of such variations can be expressed in France as policing is split between the National Police and Gendarmerie. Another example of variations of law enforcement could be shown from the United States, as the United States has a layered system of federal, state, and/or local law enforcement organizations.

However, South Korea has several independent agencies that only enforce a specific law or laws—for example, the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Economy and Finance have their own enforcement organizations for either border control, Customs or taxation, respectively. However, they are not formally called police.

The Police of the Republic of Korea' (the National Police Agency of the Republic of Korea) protect Republic of Korea people's lives, bodies and property, prevent, suppress, and investigate crimes, guard major facilities, guard key factors, and counter-espionage. Conducting counterterrorism operations, collecting, preparing, and distributing security information, controlling traffic and preventing harm, seeking international cooperation with foreign government agencies and international organizations, and other duties to maintain public peace and order It refers to an organization in charge of security, safety, pollution control, and investigation of incidents at sea.