Korea to provide less-lethal guns to police officers

An armed police officer patrols the commercial area of the Gangnam Station in Seoul on Aug. 7, four days after 22-year-old Choi Won-jong attacked people at a subway station connected to a mall in Seongnam, Gyeonggi. [YONHAP]

The police will distribute less-lethal guns to all police officers on field duty in response to the recent surge in random attacks.
 
The guns will be loaded with less-fatal rounds. Their lethality is only 10 percent of traditional bullets.
 
President Yoon Suk Yeol said additional safety equipment will be provided to 101 police squadrons.
 
"Guns loaded with less-lethal bullets will be handed out to all police officers," Yoon said, adding, "We will implement structural changes within the police organization, prioritizing public safety."
 
He said the government will enhance police capacity to ensure public safety by taking measures such as increasing combat training for police officers and incorporating the latest technologies, such as virtual reality, into the officers' training regimen.
 
The fear of random attacks among the public has grown because of a series of attacks against people in public that took place across Korea, which has prompted the need to take measures to strengthen public security.
 
These incidents include the knife attacks in Sillim-dong last month and at Seohyeon Station in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, earlier this month.
 
The most recent incident involved a man raping and killing a woman with a brass knuckle.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]