Police officer says duty involves caring for homeless

Police sergeant Park A-ron / Yonhap

By Bahk Eun-ji

When facilities for homeless people around Seoul Station were temporarily closed after group infections of COVID-19 were found there at the end of January, dozens of the local homeless who tested positive could not be reached to be informed of testing positive.

Among them, nearly 50 were located by Park A-ron, 38, a police sergeant at Namdaemun Police Station in Jung District in Seoul.

Sergeant Park's main job involves dealing with the homeless people around Seoul Station. There are dozens of such people living in and around the station ― particularly in the station's pedestrian tunnels and nearby park areas. Park keeps an eye on them, handles disputes among them, and even takes them to hospital for medical treatment when needed.

“But the job isn't just about helping the homeless; I also need to deal with investigations when crimes are committed,” Park said.

Park said he has become familiar with the faces and names of about 140 homeless people living around Seoul Station.

Park was appointed to the job last May. When he first approached the homeless in the area, some showed aggressive reactions and he was even assaulted. But with time he has built trust through repeated engagement with the homeless people of Seoul Station.

Sergeant Park can sometimes be seen cleaning up garbage strewn around the station which is one of the ways he sets the scene for comfortable interactions with the homeless people of the area.

After the outbreak of the coronavirus last year, Park was in charge of informing the homeless about COVID-19 testing. He was also required to locate those who tested positive; no easy feat when those affected are without a home address or mobile phone number in many cases.

In January, Park lost around 10 kilograms while seeking the whereabouts of infected homeless people who had tested positive. He patrolled the area wearing protective gear for up to 10 hours a day, a far cry from the regular patrol work of police.

“If I just walk away from these people, it would be a dereliction of my duty as a police officer; we must protect people's safety and this is a life-threatening virus,” Park said.

At Namdaemun Police, Sergeant Park is the third police officer to have been charged with the task of homeless affairs since the position was created in 2011.

Although his age and rank did not initially meet the qualifications required to take the job, Park thought he could manage it. He said he took great efforts to make up for his lack of experience by studying up on the law on welfare for homeless people and mental health related issues.

“The homeless are also citizens of this country. The welfare system offers benefits, but many are not well informed of these. There is not much I can do, but at least I can guide them to find such benefits so that they can live better,” he said.