Police to push ahead with $33M patrol robot plan despite snags in pilot programs

The National Police Agency plans to spend 45 billion won ($33.6 million) on 300 patrol robots next year despite a delay hitting one launch and breakdowns plaguing another.

The robots will support officers in the field by patrolling and detecting unusual situations, according to the agency's 2027 budget proposal obtained by Rep. Kang Myoung-gu of the People Power Party. The plan also aims to strengthen science-based crime prevention by predicting and analyzing crime risk. Starting next year, the robots will be deployed in crime-prone areas and at key facilities such as the National Assembly and embassies.

"The fire-monitoring function did not work properly at the demonstration, so the official deployment was postponed," said Rep. Lim Mun-yeong of the Democratic Party, who represents part of Gwangsan District in Jeonnam-Gwangju and attended the event.

The waist-high, four-wheeled robot, emblazoned with the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station's logo, was shown off on Sept. 21 in a parking lot at Nambu University in Gwangsan District. It was due to go into service a week later. The hourlong event covered an explanation of the robot, an operational demonstration and a fire detection test.

The robot's flame sensor worked, but its voice alert, "A fire has been detected," intermittently failed to play. The manufacturer also had to make fixes, including renewing the robot's certification from the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement, and the deployment was pushed back to Oct. 20.

Police launched the patrol robot pilot to strengthen public safety after the May murder of a high school student in Gwangsan District by Jang Yun-gi, who had tried to abduct her as she walked home. Jang was sentenced to life in prison on Sept. 30.

"Introducing patrol robots is one of the supplementary measures to reduce blind spots in public safety," the chief of a local police precinct said. Officers from police substations and police boxes already patrol the streets, but the idea is to concentrate the robots in high-crime areas to tighten security.

Doubts remain over how much the robots will do for public safety. With about 260 police precincts nationwide, 300 robots would come to roughly one per precinct.

Paldal Bot, a patrol robot run by the Suwon Paldal Police precinct in Gyeonggi, has also drawn questions over its usefulness because of frequent breakdowns and long repair times.

The National Police Agency is currently moving patrol officers into investigations to fill the gap left by the abolition of the Prosecutors' Office. The number of officers on public safety duty fell by about 2,000, from more than 62,000 in 2023 under the former Yoon Suk Yeol administration to about 59,900 in August.

"With personnel concentrated in investigative departments and field patrol officers shrinking, it is questionable whether patrol robots that break down frequently and whose crime prevention effect has not been proven can be an alternative," Rep. Kang, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, said. "Measures to secure field police personnel, who are responsible for public safety, must come first."

After adding 1,907 investigators in the first half of this year, the agency plans to assign another 2,100 to investigations in the second half.

"Only a tiny fraction of the 2,100 being added in the second half is a net increase," Kim Jong-chul, acting commissioner general of the National Police Agency, said at a press conference on Sept. 14. "The rest is a reassignment of current personnel, including riot police units."

BY RYU HYO-RIM [[email protected]]