Seoul: Police announced a strategic shift on Monday to reduce the number of riot police at rallies and demonstrations, granting organizers increased autonomy in managing these events.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the new policy aims to place more responsibility on organizers for maintaining order. Police will adopt a "reactive and supplementary role," focusing on supporting order maintenance and ensuring public safety. Park Jun-hyun, the chief of the Korean National Police Agency's Situational Intelligence Division, introduced this policy change during a forum at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Seoul.

Mobile police units will remain on standby, designated for essential public safety tasks such as crime prevention, response, and crowd and disaster management. Park highlighted that since February 19, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has been piloting this approach. Despite a similar number of rallies between February and April compared to previous years, riot police deployment decreased by 62 percent, with no reports of illegal or violent protests.

Park further announced that this policy would be expanded nationwide starting this month, reflecting a significant shift in how authorities manage public assemblies and demonstrations.