South Korea has figured out how to post up a cop without actually sending one. Every night between 7 and 10 p.m. in Seoul’s Judong No. 3 Park, a full-size holographic police officer flickers to life, repeating warnings about CCTV surveillance and promising that real officers will respond “in real time.”
It’s not a PR stunt. The hologram is fully backed by Seoul police and built by tech company Hologrammica, who claim it’s more than just digital window dressing.
Since the ghost-cop’s installation in October as part of a “Safe Park” initiative, reported crimes in the area have dropped by roughly 22 percent, police told E-Daily. That stat compares data from the same hours before and after the hologram went live. While it obviously can’t arrest anyone, police say the digital presence alone is enough to deter bad decisions.
Seoul Installs Life-Size Hologram Cops That Tell You You’re Being Watched
“Although it was clear upon closer inspection that the person wasn’t a real person, the mere perception of police presence had a significant deterrent effect,” police said in a statement.
The hologram stands over 170 cm (about five and a half feet) tall and was modeled on a real human. It looks vaguely uncanny, especially when it lights up in the dark and warns you that the area is under surveillance. Its presence has been described by some online as helpful and high-tech—others compare it to a glowing scarecrow.
“What the hell, there’s a police ghost patrolling around here, what the hell are people thinking?” one user wrote.
Still, the psychological effect seems to be working, at least on paper. Jungbu Police Station Chief Ahn Dong-hyun told reporters the hologram is “establishing itself as a smart security device” and said plans are in place to expand these kinds of AI-backed deterrents to other areas.
South Korea has long leaned into experimental tech for public use—from facial recognition in schools to virtual assistants in train stations. This fits right in. It’s part warning, part presence, and part optics.
Whether the drop in crime is the result of actual deterrence or people just avoiding the park because it now features a glowing projection of authority is still up for debate. It doesn’t move or blink, but the hologram’s presence is enough to make people think twice—and that, apparently, is the whole point.
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