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K-Pop and K-Cops? South Korea Hopes to Export Policing Model

Jason Strother

   SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - South Korea's police force has overcome a troubled
   and sometimes violent legacy in order to build trust with citizens. Now
   it's trying to export its crime-fighting practices across the globe.

   South Korea's K-pop music and film industry are some of its best-known
   cultural products. But the so-called "Korean Wave" also includes the
   country's police forces -- known as K-cops.

   The Korea National Police Agency (KNPA) says it has a lot to offer
   countries that want to improve their law enforcement systems. In 2015,
   the KNPA launched the K-cop program to share that knowhow and has
   worked with overseas partners in 110 nations.

   "It's a way for us to collaborate with other countries to fight
   international crime," said the KNPA's chief of international
   cooperation, Yeo Tae-su. "The international border system has been
   weakened, so we need to work together to stop things like drug
   trafficking, terrorism and other organized crime."

   Through the K-cop program, the KNPA holds workshops for visiting law
   enforcement officials and dispatches KNPA officers overseas for
   training projects.

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