Police Launch Investigation Into Allegations of Chinese-Made Body Cams Supplied for 19.4 Billion Won Project

Police have launched a coercive investigation into allegations that Chinese-made equipment was supplied for a police body camera project backed by a budget of some 19 billion won intended to strengthen security.

According to the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency today (September 9), the anti-terrorism and counter-intelligence investigation unit is investigating Company A, a terminal procurement contractor that supplied body cams to the National Police Agency, and KT, which was responsible for building the communication network, on charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Economic Crimes and obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means.

The companies formed a consortium last year and were selected as the operators for the police body camera introduction project.

The project was pursued to replace body cameras that frontline police officers had been purchasing with their own money with official equipment, with a total of 19.486 billion won scheduled to be invested through 2029.

Through this project last year, the police distributed approximately 14,000 body cameras to the field.

Body cameras are mobile cameras attached to the body to record scenes, and the recorded footage is transmitted to the National Information Resources Service via wireless repeaters.

In last year's bidding notice, the police explicitly excluded Chinese-made terminals from the eligible products to prevent security issues such as hacking or video tampering of commercial products.

This was because security was paramount as the recorded footage is transmitted directly to the National Information Resources Service.

In response, the supplying contractors reportedly explained that they would supply the products manufactured through Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) at a factory in Taiwan.

However, the police recently received a tip from a company that was eliminated from the operator selection process, claiming that "the supplied body cameras are similar in function and appearance to products from a Chinese company," prompting the police to launch an investigation.

The police conducted raids on KT and Company A to secure relevant materials and are also questioning individuals involved.

They have commissioned a specialized institution to appraise whether the supplied body cams and the Chinese-made products are identical.

Company A reportedly denied the allegations during police questioning, maintaining that they "supplied OEM products made in Taiwan."

(Photo provided by Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.