National Police Agency Allocates 15 Trillion Won Budget for Next Year... Drug Crime Response Funding Increased Sevenfold

Investment in Building Advanced Investigative Capabilities and Systems

The police have allocated next year's budget at approximately 15 trillion won. Funding will be invested in building advanced investigative capabilities and systems to strengthen responses against transnational crimes, including drug-related offenses, that transcend borders.

Drug smuggling mastermind Pak Wang-Yeol, who was imprisoned in the Philippines, is being repatriated through Incheon International Airport this March. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang

On September 3, the National Police Agency announced that the 2027 budget has been set at 14.9832 trillion won, an increase of 721 billion won (5.1%) compared to this year. The main project budget totals 2.8765 trillion won, up 171.9 billion won (6.4%) from the previous year.

The police plan to focus investment on expanding crime response capabilities for both transnational and public safety crimes, as well as field-oriented policing infrastructure. In particular, comprehensive support will be provided at every stage—from crackdown to detection and investigation—to combat drug-related crimes. The related budget has been set at 6.83 billion won, which is nearly seven times higher than this year's 980 million won.

In addition, 6.86 billion won will be allocated to expand and distribute virtual asset analysis programs and to strengthen investigative capabilities related to virtual assets, such as the entrusted storage of seized items. Another 4.18 billion won will support the supply of high-performance workstations to investigative departments for large-scale data analysis including photo, video, and financial materials. To enhance the extradition and joint investigation of suspects who have fled overseas, 1.46 billion won will be allocated. The reward for reporting technology leakage crimes will also be raised from 5 million won to 300 million won.

Furthermore, 2.28 billion won will be invested in implementing safety measures such as the introduction of intelligent CCTV for crime prevention and victim protection, and a newly established 300 million won budget will be dedicated to introducing professional services for detecting location-tracking devices to protect victims of relational crimes.

The agency also plans to introduce a large number of artificial intelligence (AI) robots, specialized for counter-terrorism, forensic science, crime prevention, and security. These robots are intended to enhance safety and response capabilities by entering dangerous sites or supporting repetitive tasks. The counter-terrorism response robot budget is set at 4.8 billion won, which is an increase of 2.4 billion won compared to this year. Additionally, 2.25 billion won has been newly allocated for evidence collection robots at hazardous sites, 45 billion won for crime prevention robots, and 4 billion won for police unit support robots.

The draft budget will be finalized after review by the National Assembly. A National Police Agency official stated, "We will endeavor to build infrastructure that protects the public from crime and enables officers at the scene to confidently fulfill their duties."

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