<Anchor> An
electroshock weapon used to subdue a criminal with a weapon, often called a taser. After importing from the United States, several problems were identified, and domestic equipment was developed, but as a result of the inspection, 9 out of 10 equipment was judged to be defective, so it is not even trial operation yet.
This is an exclusive report by reporter Kim Sang-min.
<Reporter>
In January 2019, near Amsa Station in Seoul. As the two men fight, one pulls out a weapon and wields it.
[Drop the weapon, quickly.] The
stun gun didn't hit, and the man ran into the crowd without even having time to reload it.
Controversy arose as the limitations of the US-made electroshock weapon, which could not be fired continuously and were expensive in unit price, were exposed.
After the National Police Agency signed a business agreement with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, research and development was carried out with a budget of 1 billion won for two years.
The police purchased 100 pieces of equipment at the end of 2019 to test it.
However, mechanical defects such as insufficient firing function and defective lasers have been continuously discovered, so they are still not widely distributed.
Although the 6th inspection was conducted to compensate for the problems, 9 out of 10 equipment were still judged to be defective.
[Han Byung-do / Member of the Democratic Party (National Assembly Executive and Security Committee): This is a matter directly related to public safety. The National Police Agency must make a sober judgment about whether it is right to keep holding on to this troublesome taser from the trial operation stage.] The
police maintain a high defect rate due to strict inspection standards, but performance improvements are continuously being made, and equipment As the expected benefits of localization are great, even if the timing is delayed, he said that he would be careful and correct the problems.
(Video coverage: Kim Gyun-jong, video editing: Jeon Min-gyu)