At the former Gaebong 1 Police Post in Gaebong-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul, on the 6th, dust-covered bicycles and snow removal equipment storage boxes sat in front of the red brick building. Overgrown tree branches from the flower bed partially blocked the entrance. Only the navy blue signboard and notices on the door hinted that this was once a police post. Lee Young-sim (80), a Gaebong-dong resident, sighed, "It's been almost two years since it became vacant, and it's still empty. They should just demolish it—leaving it abandoned only piles up trash and ruins the neighborhood atmosphere."
Following police efforts to close police posts, 152 former facilities have remained without a designated use for an extended period. Critics say measures are needed to utilize these sites, as abandoned facilities heighten residents' anxiety and government assets funded by taxpayers are being left idle.
According to Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO), as of January this year, the agency manages 230 former police posts nationwide that were transferred from the National Police Agency. Of these, 78 are being operated as "Nara-On Workplaces" supporting senior re-employment and rehabilitation for people with developmental disabilities, or are being used for private leases and welfare facilities. The remaining 152 sit unused.
In 2023, police announced plans to close 576 police posts nationwide and reassign personnel. Police posts are facilities where typically one or two officers are dispatched during daytime hours to assist with civil affairs. The closures were pursued to efficiently manage state assets by consolidating personnel and operations into nearby police stations and substations, focusing on areas with low security demand. As a result, the number of police posts nationwide dropped to 669 at the end of last year—a decline of more than 30% from 969 in 2022.
The problem is that despite goals of efficient state asset management, most closed police posts have become long-term "white elephants" without finding a purpose. The Gaebong 1 Police Post in Guro-gu, Seoul, has been abandoned for nearly two years since the National Police Agency entrusted it to KAMCO in April 2024 due to lack of rental demand. KAMCO conducted a demand survey among central government agencies, but none expressed interest in using the facility. Even after expanding outreach to local governments and regional agencies, there was no demand. The Gocheok 1 Police Post in Guro-gu has similarly been used as a temporary storage space for a nearby community center since closing in December 2023.
Repurposing former police posts requires multiple procedures and considerable time. First, the National Police Agency must complete the decommissioning process before transferring management to KAMCO. Additionally, coordination with local governments is needed to remove the public office building designation from urban planning. If safety planning and demand reviews are prolonged, police posts can be left abandoned indefinitely.
Low foot traffic in certain areas means limited demand for using these buildings. Furthermore, rental fees are typically set at 1% of the police post's appraised value—a burden in the metropolitan area that makes finding tenants even more difficult. A KAMCO official said, "We continue to search for ways to use former police posts in remote areas," adding, "but there is no standardized procedure for converting to private lease or sale when there is no demand."
Experts agree that prolonged abandonment of former police posts can heighten residents' anxiety. They point to the need for setting deadlines for demand assessment and appropriateness reviews, with swift conversion to private lease if there is no public sector demand. Some suggest exploring temporary uses rather than letting sites go to waste. Lee Yun-ho, a professor of police administration at Dongguk University, emphasized, "A system is needed to permit temporary operation as rest areas for traffic volunteers or mobile workers even before the use-change procedures are completed."
Others say measures to boost demand for former police post sites are urgently needed. Seo Jung-ryul, a professor of real estate studies at Youngsan University, advised, "Police posts are not large in area, so demand may be limited. One approach could be bundling scattered police posts for bulk lease to private parties—similar to how cafes operate multiple branches."
