Event runs June 23–26 in Seoul, bringing together capital police chiefs from six countries
The Cambodian online scam complex that came to light last year laid bare the borderless nature of modern crime. As such transnational offenses continued to surge, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency took the lead in forming the International Capital Police Council (ICPC), concluding that closer cooperation among national police forces had become essential.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, the inaugural ICPC 2026 event will be held in Seoul from June 23 to June 26, bringing together the police chiefs of six national capitals — Beijing (China), Hanoi (Vietnam), Manila (Philippines), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and The Hague (Netherlands).
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency proposed the ICPC. While an existing international forum already convenes top law enforcement officials, the agency argued that a separate working-level meeting among capital police chiefs was needed, given that capital cities tend to have particularly high concentrations of foreign nationals and a correspondingly elevated rate of related crimes. Police said the chiefs of police in Washington, London and Paris are also likely to join from the next event onward.
Over three days, the visiting police chiefs will hold bilateral talks and plenary sessions at Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency headquarters in Jongno-gu and at Sevit Island in Seocho-gu. The agenda covers regularizing exchanges among capital police forces, establishing substantive working-level communication channels, and strengthening cooperation on protecting overseas nationals. The chiefs also plan to issue a joint declaration centered on building a global framework for coordinated responses to transnational crime.
The visiting police chiefs and their delegations are scheduled to tour the agency's 112 integrated operations center, traffic information center, mobile unit headquarters, special operations unit and Han River police unit.
"There are about 280,000 foreign residents and roughly 19 million foreign tourists in Korea, and this will be effective in responding to crimes they experience here — and will also be a great help in protecting our overseas nationals," Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Commissioner Park Jeong-bo said.
nyang@heraldcorp.com
