Disciplinary action against police officer over lax response confirmed by Supreme Court

(Herald DB)
(Herald DB)

South Korea’s top court upheld a decision to punish a police officer for a lax response to a domestic violence case, which resulted in the victim being killed by the abusive partner, court officials said Monday.

The Supreme Court confirmed the lower court ruling, which said that the National Police Agency was justified in issuing a warning against the officer surnamed Park, who was accused of responding inadequately to the domestic abuse report in 2021.

Park, who was an inspector at a police station in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, at the time of the case, received a report in the early hours of Aug. 14, 2021, that a woman was quarreling with a man she was living with. The officer asked the couple if there had been violence. The man, who was intoxicated, said there had not been. The woman, however, did not answer and only pleaded with the police to take the suspect out of their home.

Park took the suspect out of the home and advised him to return once he was sober.

The woman reported the man attempting to force his way back into the home 14 times afterward. Park visited the victim’s home twice more and told the man to stop, but did not officially report the case as domestic abuse to the police system.

By 8:54 a.m. that day, the man forced his way into the home and killed the woman. He was sentenced to five years in prison for causing death by bodily injury in accordance with Article 259 of the Criminal Act.

Park was initially subject to a reprimand, which is the second-lowest form of disciplinary measure after a warning. The officer, however, challenged the decision and had the punishment downgraded to a warning, which entails disadvantages in personnel evaluations. Nevertheless, he filed an administrative lawsuit to challenge the warning.

"The defendant arrived multiple times at the scene of a case that could have involved domestic violence, and is believed to have failed to adequately carry out the duties required of a police officer," the Supreme Court said. "(The defendant) failed to take proactive measures to ensure the victim's safety and did not change the case code to 'domestic violence,' causing police teams to miss the opportunity to implement appropriate measures,” the top court said in its ruling.


minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com