President Lee Myung-bak said Friday police should work harder to ensure public safety, especially to uproot sex crimes, crimes against children and school violence that have been plaguing South Korean society in recent years.
"Firmly safeguarding the people's safety is the primary reason for the police's existence," Lee said in a Police Day speech. "We have to thoroughly review existing ways of thinking and means of policing as crimes happen in front of schools and on the streets and even make their ways into homes."
Lee said the public does not have full confidence in policing, citing April's grisly kidnapping, raping and killing of a woman in Suwon, south of Seoul. Police drew strong fire over the crime as they clumsily handled an emergency phone call from the victim and wasted time.
"We have to make people have firm beliefs that they can get police help at any time," he said.
Lee also said the government will beef up police manpower and take other legal and institutional measures to improve policing. (Yonhap)