South Korean Police Win U.S. IACP Organizational Award for Results in Tackling Transnational Crime

[Financial News] South Korean police have received an organizational award from the U.S.-based International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) in recognition of their international cooperation efforts to combat transnational scam crimes.
The National Police Agency said on the 28th that it had received the award in the transnational crime leadership category at the IACP annual conference held on the 27th.
The IACP is the world’s largest police association, evaluating the activities of law enforcement agencies around the world and their contributions to the development of international policing, and presenting awards each year to outstanding agencies. The National Police Agency was recognized for achieving tangible results through international cooperation, including tracking criminal organizations and arresting and repatriating suspects in collaboration with overseas law enforcement agencies.
In October last year, the National Police Agency launched the International Cooperation Consultative Alliance (IICA), involving INTERPOL, ASEANAPOL and nine countries, with the goal of eradicating transnational scam compounds. It has since expanded participation, and the alliance now includes law enforcement agencies from 52 countries and 4 international organizations.
Through the alliance, law enforcement agencies in participating countries have shared information and pursued joint operations to track and arrest suspects in transnational crimes, rescue victims from scam compounds, and recover criminal funds.
One of the most notable achievements was the mass repatriation of fugitives from Cambodia. To combat scam organizations operating out of Southeast Asia, the National Police Agency signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on security cooperation with Cambodian law enforcement agencies and established a Korea-Cambodia Joint Task Force for Koreans there.
Working with local authorities, it subsequently repatriated 137 fugitives to South Korea in two group transfers.
The agency also responded when criminal organizations moved their bases of operation to other countries. In cooperation with Kazakh authorities, the National Police Agency arrested and repatriated 14 Korean members of a scam organization based there. Including five members arrested in South Korea, the total number of arrests was 19.
More recently, working with authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), it arrested and repatriated to South Korea the leader and key members of a large-scale illegal gambling website operation who had fled overseas.
The National Police Agency has expanded its efforts to combat transnational crime from Southeast Asia to Central Asia and the Middle East, combining the operation of a multilateral international cooperation alliance with on-the-ground collaboration with law enforcement agencies in individual countries.
Kim Dong-gwon, director of the National Police Agency’s International Police Cooperation Bureau, said, “Because transnational crimes cross borders, close cooperation with international organizations and law enforcement agencies in each country is more important than anything else,” and stressed, “We will continue to strengthen the international cooperation system and do our utmost to protect the lives and property of the public through practical joint responses, including tracking and arresting criminals, protecting victims, and recovering criminal proceeds.”

[email protected] Kim Ye-ji Reporter