The National Police Agency announced on February 17 that it will expand help centers for foreigners in Korea from 230 to 262.
As of last may, the police began to use multicultural centers, NGO offices and selected stores convenient to the expatriate community as places to report crimes or receive appropriate counseling. Each center has seen approximately 16 cases over the last eight months.
The NPA said that it will get rid of 11 help centers that haven't been actively used and select 22 other locations for new centers.
Help centers can be found at 101 multicultural family support centers, 58 NGO offices, and 41 restaurants. Seoul has the highest number of help centers with 49 locations, followed by Gyeonggi Province with 37 help centers.
The NPA published an operational handbook for help centers that includes information on past cases and how to help foreigners. In June, it will choose the best help centers based on their performance records.
By Jessica Seoyoung Choi
Korea.net Staff Writer
