Expired armor, exposed officers: Police sent into field with failing vests

Police officers are being sent into the field wearing body armor that is past its service life — and some of it has already failed performance tests.

Police purchased 11,500 bullet- and stab-resistant vests in 2016 and another 11,500 in 2017, based on data the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) submitted to Rep. Kang Myoung-gu of the main opposition People Power Party.

The two batches — with a 10-year service life — are now reaching the point when they should be replaced. But replacing them may not be easy. 

The 2016 batch was replaced after a homemade-gun shooting in Songdo, Incheon, last year, when the KNPA hurriedly secured 5.18 billion won ($3.8 million) for new vests.

But the 2017 batch has no such replacement budget. No budget has been allocated, even though some of those vests have already failed performance tests.

Two of three vests fell short of the required standard in a test conducted by the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality at the request of the police in July.

The vests needed a V50 ballistic-limit velocity of at least 560 meters per second (1,837 feet per second) to meet the minimum ballistic protection threshold.

However, the two failing samples recorded underwhelming 548.88 meters per second and 557.2 meters per second.

The findings indicate officers may be entering the field in body armor that falls below standards and could be penetrated by bullets or fragments.

Police introduced the body armor after an officer was fatally shot with a homemade gun while responding to an assault report near Mount Opae Tunnel in Gangbuk District, northern Seoul, in 2016.

“Body armor is a lifeline for police officers, yet these vests have not only reached the end of their service life but also failed to meet performance standards,” Rep. Kang said. “Protective equipment is essential to officers’ safety and their ability to respond in the field, so a plan to replace the aging body armor must be put in place before it is too late.”

The police pushed back against concerns over the test results.

The agency argued that the body armor still offers sufficient protection against the types of threats officers are likely to encounter in the field.

“The V50 test is designed for military applications,” a KNPA official said. “The vests passed standard firearms testing by a wide margin.”

BY RYU HYO-RIM [[email protected]]