The body of a man who allegedly hanged himself was discovered only two days later on Wednesday, as the police had initially not followed up on a report made by children.

South Chungcheong Police said Thursday that the police emergency hotline received two calls on Monday from a group of elementary school children who claimed they had found a dead man. 

The children, aged between 7 and 9, told the police where they had discovered the body -- at a defunct supermarket in the region’s Nonsan city – however, they had apparently lacked confidence in delivering the report.

According to the police the group of children had passed the cell phone around to one another as they felt shy about addressing the authorities.

The two policemen who took the calls dismissed the report. They did not relay the information to the regional police office, nor dispatched anyone to inspect the area.

The body was discovered on Wednesday when a local bank employee reported the same information.

Based on a note that was found at the scene and the absence of marks of struggle, the police have tentatively concluded that the deceased had committed suicide.

The police admitted that their initial lack of response was due to the children’s young age.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)