Police launch Halloween crackdown on ‘imitation police uniforms’; inspect 54 online retailers

[Financial News] Ahead of Halloween, police will launch an intensive crackdown on the illegal manufacture, sale and distribution of imitation police uniforms and equipment that could cause someone to be mistaken for a police officer.
The Korean National Police Agency said on the 25th that it will conduct a joint crackdown with provincial and metropolitan police agencies nationwide for one week, from the 26th through the 1st of next month, targeting illegal activities involving imitation police uniforms and equipment.
The crackdown is intended to prevent imitation police uniforms and equipment from being exploited in crimes involving impersonation of police officers or causing confusion during actual police public safety operations.
Under the current Act on the Regulation of Police Uniforms and Police Equipment, members of the public who are not police officers are prohibited from wearing or possessing police uniforms or imitation police uniforms and equipment. Violators may face up to six months in prison or a fine of up to 3 million won.
Police plan to conduct intensive inspections of major portals and secondhand trading sites in cooperation with the Korea Online Shopping Association. They will also take steps to block related search terms, such as ‘police uniform’ and ‘police clothes,’ from appearing in search results.
Police will also step up inspections of 54 major online retailers and conduct on-site guidance and enforcement in major areas nationwide, including Itaewon and Hongdae in Seoul. They plan to respond strictly, including by referring cases for investigation when violations are found.
Police also urged people to refrain from selling or using cosplay costumes and items that do not legally qualify as imitation police uniforms, since people may mistake members of the public for actual police officers at night or in crowded places.
A police official said, “We will continue working to ensure that the purpose of regulating imitation police uniforms and equipment, and the culture surrounding it, take root in the right way.”

[email protected] Kim Ye-ji Reporter