Move would install first independent police force abroad
The National Police Agency said Monday that it is considering sending a police outfit to help maintain public security in East Timor, where political unrest has continued for months. "The United Nations asked Korea’s foreign ministry in July to send police to East Timor," said Park Gi-ryun of the agency’s foreign affairs division. "We are talking about the idea with the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Budget and Planning, and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy." One company of professional police usually consists of between 120 and 140 officers. Nothing has been decided about personnel and budgetary matters, however, so it is unclear when any Korean police would actually depart for the small country within the archipelago largely dominated by Indonesia.Dispatching Korean police overseas is not entirely unprecedented. Korea sent two officers to Somalia in 1994 and five to East Timor in 1999, all as either election observers or liaison officials. This would be the first time Korean police would have the ability to function independently as a unit in a foreign country. Unlike in the case of dispatching military units, sending police to perform operations in a foreign country does not require National Assembly approval. There are other potential motives beyond the opportunity to contribute the international community. Park noted that the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy "supports the idea of sending troops and thinks it would be in the national interest." The Timor Sea is believed to have significant oil and gas resources, and Australia and other nations in the region are eyeing the possibility of development. East Timor’s prime minister Mari bim Amude Alkatiri fired 60 striking soldiers last February, who then rebelled. President Kay Rala Xanana Gusmao called for the prime minister to resign, but Alkatiri refused to do so until late June, leading to a state of continuing instability ahead of presidential elections scheduled for next year. Currently some 2,600 foreign police and military personnel are in East Timor, from Australia, New Zealand, China, and Portugal.
