The national Police Agency will form a task force to protect politicians while tracking threats against them and arresting the perpetrators.

Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun on Monday briefed ruling People Power Party(PPP) floor leader Yun Jae-ok and policy committee chairman Yu Eui-dong at the National Assembly on measures to protect candidates and lawmakers in the run-up to the general election in April.

The commissioner vowed to increase police patrol activities and prevent the recurrence of copycat crimes or cases similar to the stabbing of main opposition Democratic Party(DP) chair Lee Jae-myung in early January and the blunt object attack of PPP Rep. Bae Hyun-jin last week.

The PPP floor leader expressed concern that high-profile politicians may be at higher risk of assault, calling for measures to prevent such crimes from happening.

Meanwhile, the DP slammed the government for downplaying the attack against its chief earlier this month, even raising suspicion that the Office for Government Policy Coordination's Counter-Terrorism department is attempting to minimize or conceal the incident.