South Korean police will step up patrols in neighborhoods dense with single-person households whose residents are staying put over the Chuseok holiday, and will intensify monitoring of domestic violence, stalking and other relationship-based crimes. With highway traffic expected to average more than 6 million vehicles a day during the holiday, police will also tighten traffic enforcement, including crackdowns on drunk and reckless driving.
The Korean National Police Agency said on the 13th that it will run a comprehensive Chuseok holiday policing plan for 11 days from the 17th through the 27th of this month. The move reflects expectations that demand for policing will be compressed into a short window, as this year's four-day Chuseok break is shorter than in previous years, concentrating travel to and from hometowns and gatherings of family and relatives.
Police will focus preventive assessments and patrols on areas dense with single-person households, including those of women, as well as on crime-prone locations, taking into account the growing number of people who now spend the holiday alone rather than traveling to their hometowns. Officers will be concentrated at vulnerable times and places based on local policing needs and residents' input.
Preventive activity will also be reinforced at facilities that draw large crowds, such as multiplex shopping malls, and at everyday neighborhood businesses including convenience stores. Where necessary, volunteer neighborhood patrol groups will be used to provide escort-home services and conduct joint patrols.
Anticipating more contact among family members and couples over the holiday, police will also focus on relationship-based crimes such as domestic violence, child abuse, stalking and dating violence. Police plan to review the status of such cases in advance to prevent repeat offenses, respond firmly from the outset when reports come in, and strengthen measures to protect victims.
Prevention and enforcement will also be stepped up against crimes that prey on the public during the holiday, including robbery and theft, illegal private lending and voice phishing. If officers find households in crisis and in need of help because of financial hardship or other difficulties, they plan to link them with local governments so they can receive welfare support.
During the holiday, the police agency will raise the rank of its situation manager from senior superintendent to senior superintendent general. National policing conditions will be managed through the 112 comprehensive emergency response center, with information on major incidents and accidents shared quickly. Commanders at each metropolitan and provincial police agency and at police stations will also inspect key sites in person.
Police will concentrate personnel on managing traffic on routes to and from hometowns. Korea Expressway Corporation projects that daily highway traffic during this year's Chuseok holiday will average about 6.05 million vehicles, up 11.8% from 5.41 million during last year's Chuseok holiday.
Police will manage traffic conditions on expressways and major national highways as well as at chronically congested spots such as traditional markets, bus terminals and cemetery parks, and will crack down on major traffic violations including drunk and reckless driving. They will also support safety management at venues drawing large crowds, such as local festivals.
"So that the public can spend a peaceful holiday, we will look more closely at people's immediate surroundings and carry out policing that people can feel close to their daily lives, from crime prevention to safety on the roads to and from hometowns," the police agency said.
