National Police Agency (South Korea)

Korean National Police Agency
대한민국 경찰청
Korean National Police Agency; 대한민국 경찰청
	Emblem of the Korean National Police Agency
	Seal of the Korean National Police Agency
	Flag of the Korean National Police Agency
Common name	Korean National Police
Abbreviation	KNPA
Agency overview
Formed	1 August 1991
Preceding agency	National Security Headquarters;
Employees	126,227 (2020)
Annual budget	₩11.36 trillion (2020)
Legal personality	Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
National agency	South Korea
Operations jurisdiction	South Korea
General nature	Local civilian police;
Operational structure
Headquarters	97, Tongil-ro, Seodaemun, Seoul
Agency executives	Yoon Hee-keun, Commissioner General; Kim Soo-hwan, deputy commissioner;
Parent agency	Ministry of the Interior and Safety
Local police agencies	18 Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency ; Busan Police Agency ; Daegu Police Agency ; Incheon Police Agency ; Daejeon Police Agency ; Gwangju Police Agency ; Ulsan Police Agency ; Sejong Special Self-Governing City Police Agency ; Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency ; Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial 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 Provincial Police Agency;
Website
	Official website
Korean name
Hangul	경찰청
Hanja	警察廳
Revised Romanization	Gyeongchalcheong
McCune–Reischauer	Kyŏngch'alch'ŏng

The Korean National Police Agency (KNPA), also known as the Korean National Police (KNP), is one of the national police organizations in South Korea. It is run under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety^[3] and is headquartered in Seodaemun, Seoul.^[4] The agency is divided into 18 local police agencies, including the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Local police agencies are not independent of the national police.

The origins of Korean Police organization date to the Police Department of Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. After the Division of Korea in 1945, the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) created the Police Administration Bureau under its command, and established a police department in every province, relying upon the police force from the colonial period to maintain law and order.^[5] A Bureau of National Security was established in 1948 before its demise in 1974.^[6]

The present-day agency was created in 1991, reshuffling the National Security Headquarters in the Ministry of Home Affairs (Korean: 내무부 치안본부) to the National Police Agency.^[7]

^ "경찰통계자료" (in Korean). Korean National Police Agency. 2020. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
^ "2021 경찰백서 부록" (in Korean). Korean National Police Agency. 2021. Retrieved 2022-11-04.
^ John Pike (1999-07-18). "National Police Agency". FAS. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
^ "Location". KNPA. Retrieved 2019-11-03.
^ Cho, Wonhyuk (2017). "Change and Continuity in Police Organizations: Institution, Legitimacy, and Democratization" (PDF). The Korean Journal of Policy Studies. 32 (1): 149–174. doi:10.52372/kjps32107. S2CID 243193152.
^ "KNPA History : HOME > About KNPA > KNPA History".
^ "Period of the National Police Agency". KNPA. Retrieved 2019-11-03.

[1] "경찰통계자료" (in Korean). Korean National Police Agency. 2020. Retrieved 2022-08-19.

[2] "2021 경찰백서 부록" (in Korean). Korean National Police Agency. 2021. Retrieved 2022-11-04.

[3] John Pike (1999-07-18). "National Police Agency". FAS. Retrieved 2019-11-02.

[4] "Location". KNPA. Retrieved 2019-11-03.

[:0-5] Cho, Wonhyuk (2017). "Change and Continuity in Police Organizations: Institution, Legitimacy, and Democratization" (PDF). The Korean Journal of Policy Studies. 32 (1): 149–174. doi:10.52372/kjps32107. S2CID 243193152.

[6] "KNPA History : HOME > About KNPA > KNPA History".

[7] "Period of the National Police Agency". KNPA. Retrieved 2019-11-03.

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