Dongguk University Research Team Selected as a Joint R&D Institution for Public Safety Field Project Led by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korean National Police Agency

[Financial News] The research team at the Applied Criminology Research Institute at Dongguk University, led by Professor Kim Yeon-su of the university’s Department of Criminology, has been selected as a joint research and development institution for a new project under the 2026 Customized R&D Program for Public Safety Field Operations (Police Lab 3.0), jointly promoted by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Korean National Police Agency. The research will run for 18 months, from July 2026 through December 2027, with 900 million won in government funding.
According to Dongguk University on the 3rd, Stratio Korea will lead the project, with Dongguk University participating as a joint research and development institution. The project aims to develop a portable identification system that combines short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectroscopy with artificial intelligence (AI) to identify, within seconds and without opening the packaging, suspected powdered hazardous-substance samples found at public safety sites.
Police Lab 3.0 is a national R&D program that develops and demonstrates technologies needed in police operations. The rapid demonstration track, under which this project was selected, is designed to advance prototype-stage technologies to a level suitable for use in actual public safety operations.
The Applied Criminology Research Institute at Dongguk University will focus not on developing the technology itself, but on verifying its applicability in actual police operations. It will develop a mobile application and user interface and user experience (UI/UX) for field responders, conduct field demonstrations in cooperation with police stations, and analyze user feedback.
The team will also analyze how readily police officers can adopt the technology and how the use of AI-assisted tools affects decision-making in the field. In addition, it plans to study the potential effects of using AI in law enforcement.
The research team plans to improve the technology by repeatedly incorporating feedback from field demonstrations into the system and conducting further demonstrations. The goal is to verify not only technical performance, but also usability in actual police work and its impact on decision-making.
The technology is initially intended for use in police investigations to identify hazardous substances. The research team will also examine its potential application in other areas requiring hazardous-substance identification, including airports, customs, and logistics security.
Professor Kim said, "The core of this project is to complete technology that begins with the actual needs of public safety operations and bring it to a level where it can be deployed in the field through repeated demonstrations. We will combine criminology and police studies with spectroscopy and AI technologies to produce research outcomes that can be used in the field."
Meanwhile, the Applied Criminology Research Institute at Dongguk University conducts research in applied criminology, including scientific policing, spatial crime analysis, and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED).


[email protected] Lee Bo-mi Reporter