Kim Chang-ryong, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, "Apologies for Repeated Police Sexual Misconduct... Will Establish Comprehensive Measures" (Comprehensive)

Criticism of Delayed Response to North Korean Defector's Return Amid Sexual Assault Allegations
"Regret Over Insufficient Confirmation of Whereabouts"

Kim Chang-ryong, the new Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, is attending the inauguration ceremony held at the National Police Agency in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on the 24th. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Amid allegations that a police officer in charge of North Korean defector-related affairs sexually assaulted a North Korean defector woman over a long period, Police Commissioner Kim Chang-ryong apologized for the repeated sexual misconduct by police officers and announced plans to establish eradication measures.

On the 28th, attending the plenary session of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, Commissioner Kim responded to related inquiries from Yang Ki-dae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, saying, "I apologize to the public for the repeated sexual misconduct related to the police," and added, "We will comprehensively analyze the related incidents that have occurred so far and prepare systematic measures such as recurrence prevention plans and education."

When Representative Yang asked if he intended to publicly announce the eradication measures, Commissioner Kim said, "We will prepare and implement comprehensive measures, and based on the results, we will consider ways to announce them externally," adding that he would "make every effort" to announce them before the regular National Assembly session.

Earlier, lawyer Jeon Soo-mi of the Good Lawyers Public Interest Reporting Center stated that she plans to file a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office accusing a current police officer, identified as A, of repeatedly sexually assaulting a North Korean defector woman, charging him with rape, quasi-rape, and sexual coercion through abuse of authority.

Lawyer Jeon claimed that Officer A, while working as a personal protection officer for North Korean defectors, approached the victim under the pretext of collecting North Korea-related information and sexually assaulted her 12 times over 19 months starting from May 2016. She also alleged that although the victim reported the incidents and sought help from the Security Division and the Inspection and Audit Office of the Seocho Police Station from March 2018, the police failed to take proper action.

Meanwhile, regarding the case of Kim (24), a North Korean defector under investigation for sexual assault charges who defected to North Korea, Commissioner Kim responded to a question from Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Hyung-seok about the police's "delayed response," stating, "A friend of Kim called the police around 6:30 p.m. on the 18th, saying that 'the suspect intends to harm the victim,' and we took measures focused on protecting the victim." He added, "While victim protection was adequately carried out, it is regrettable that the additional location confirmation of the subject (Kim) was insufficient."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.