Civil-public-police workshop held

A joint civil-public-police workshop on strengthening cooperation in responding to relationship-based crimes is held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Thursday. [Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency]
A joint civil-public-police workshop on strengthening cooperation in responding to relationship-based crimes is held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Thursday. [Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency]

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency held a joint civil-public-police workshop Thursday at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, aimed at strengthening cooperation in responding to relationship-based crimes, the agency announced Friday.

About 250 people attended the event, including victim protection officers from Seoul's 31 police stations and representatives from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, district-level Sonamu Centers — integrated support centers for families in crisis — and other crime victim support organizations.

Participants shared case studies in which police collaborated with partner agencies to protect victims and conduct investigations involving domestic violence, stalking and similar offenses. Commendations and letters of appreciation were presented to frontline officers who played a notable role in identifying at-risk families and actively protecting crime victims.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency established a cooperative framework with the Sonamu Centers in 2018 and with a one-stop support center for stalking victims in 2024, and this year built a joint response system with domestic violence counseling centers and other organizations. Police handled more than 7,000 relationship-based crime cases in partnership with private organizations between January and August this year.

Police plan to strengthen the joint response system so that necessary protection and support programs are provided in a timely manner, consistently monitoring the situations of at-risk families and victims rather than simply processing cases mechanically.

"No matter how good a system or cooperative framework may be, it ultimately becomes useless if each party does not properly understand the other's role on the ground," said Lee Jin-su, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Lifestyle Safety and Traffic Bureau. "I hope this workshop serves as an opportunity for each organization to better understand one another's roles and responsibilities and to cooperate more closely."


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