Seven months after launching its drone unit, South Jeolla Province's wide-area prevention patrol team has broadened operations from missing-person searches to disaster preparedness, traffic safety and large-scale event security.
The South Jeolla Provincial Police Agency's wide-area prevention patrol team has been conducting proactive policing operations using drones since officially launching its drone unit in February, recording tangible results in on-site safety management.
According to the wide-area prevention patrol team, the unit has moved beyond conventional patrol-car and foot patrols to pursue what it calls "ground-and-air integrated patrols" — using drones to inspect areas difficult to reach by vehicle or on foot and to identify hazards before incidents occur.
The team has deployed drones across a range of operations, including missing-person searches, inspections of disaster-prone areas and safety checks at large public events, shifting its focus from reactive policing to proactive hazard prevention.
One of the unit's key operations came in May when police used CCTV footage to trace the last known movements of a missing person who had left home in Damyang-gun and failed to return. A subsequent drone search of the upper reaches of Damyang Lake located the body, which was then handed over to the family.
Ahead of the rainy season, the team conducted preemptive drone safety inspections at five landslide- and rockfall-prone sites in Mokpo, Sinan, Yeongam, Muan and Hampyeong. Drones surveyed steep hillsides and road cuts that are difficult for vehicles and pedestrians to access, allowing officers to closely examine slope conditions and the state of rockfall barriers and safety installations. When hazards were identified, the team notified relevant agencies and carried out joint inspections, linking police patrols with local government safety measures to head off potential disasters.
The patrol team also collaborated with highway patrol units to conduct ground-and-air integrated patrols on major routes including the West Coast Expressway and South Sea Expressway, operating patrol cars and drones simultaneously. Aerial drone coverage supplements the limited sightlines of ground patrols, giving officers a broader, more accurate picture of road conditions and potential hazards along highways and key roads.
Looking ahead to the 2026 Yeosu World Island Expo, which runs from Sept. 5 through Nov. 4 and is expected to draw about 3 million visitors, the team carried out advance safety inspections of the venue and surrounding areas. Drones were used to check structures near the event site, identify areas likely to see crowd congestion and inspect locations that are otherwise difficult to access.
Since the drone unit's launch in February, the team has steadily expanded its use of drones across missing-person searches, disaster response, traffic safety and event security. Drones allow officers to quickly assess areas that are hard to reach in person, improving situational awareness and enabling early detection of hazards that can be shared immediately with relevant agencies.
South Jeolla police said they plan to further strengthen proactive prevention activities by deploying drones in emergencies such as missing-person cases, as well as in disaster-vulnerable areas, accident-prone road sections and large public gatherings, with the aim of delivering safety improvements that residents can feel directly.
kkm9971@heraldcorp.com
