Like the US... Police to Attach 'Cameras' to Their Bodies

[Financial News] The police will invest over 20 billion won over five years to distribute 14,000 bodycams (small cameras attached to the body) on site.
The National Police Agency announced on the 23rd that it will fully introduce bodycams, which were included as official police equipment due to the amendment of the Police Officer Duty Execution Act last year, by 2029. The National Police Agency held a 'Police Bodycam Introduction Project Kick-off Meeting' with the consortium led by KT at the National Police Agency in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, and announced this. 
Wireless communication bodycams will be provided to 14,000 field police officers, including local police, traffic police, and mobile patrol units. A total budget of 19.486 billion won will be invested, including the construction of bodycam servers and video management systems.
It is expected that the introduction of bodycams will allow the use of standardized police equipment with enhanced security and safety. The personal burden on police officers will be alleviated, and security issues such as hacking and video forgery will be resolved. Police officers have been purchasing bodycams at their own expense for evidence collection and self-protection. As of March, the number of bodycams personally purchased and used by police officers is about 2,000.
Video management will be fully digitized. The recorded video will be transmitted to the National Information Resources Service through a wireless repeater to prevent arbitrary deletion or leakage. It is designed so that even if the video is leaked, it cannot be played back as it is immediately encrypted upon recording. When using bodycams, it is mandatory to notify the recording with lights and sounds, and the recorded video and audio records are automatically deleted after being stored for 30 days from the collection date, enhancing the level of personal information security. Administrative procedures such as bodycam check-in and check-out, video storage, and ledger creation will also be automated.
The police plan to build a system that quickly analyzes large-scale video data using artificial intelligence (AI) in the future. Technologies such as extracting important incident information, facial recognition, and identifying deepfakes (false videos) will be applied. A police representative said, "We expect to secure high-quality investigative evidence, enhance the transparency of law enforcement activities, protect the human rights of the public, and improve public convenience in trials," adding, "We expect to improve the quality of evidence and minimize the infringement of citizens' rights due to abuse of public power."

unsaid@fnnews.com Kang Myung-yeon Reporter