Socar Faces Controversy Over Non-Cooperation in Providing Information on Elementary Student Sexual Assault Suspect... Eventually Apologizes

Jaewook Park, CEO of Socar

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] Socar apologized on the 10th for the controversy over not providing information about the suspect in the minor sexual assault case that occurred in Chungnam on the 6th to the police.

Park Jae-wook, CEO of Socar, issued an apology statement that morning, saying, "We sincerely apologize to the victim and their family for the company's failure to promptly cooperate with the police investigation request regarding the user's criminal act."

He continued, "We apologize to the police officers who did their best to protect the victim and catch the suspect, and to the public who were shocked by this incident," and bowed his head, saying, "We are also very sorry to our members."

CEO Park said, "When investigative agencies request Socar user information for criminal investigations, we should have cooperated according to internal manuals to protect the victim, but we failed to promptly cooperate with the investigation due to personal information protection," adding, "We will thoroughly review all principles and processes from start to finish to protect our members and prevent victimization."

Socar stated its intention to respond to criminal acts with a 'zero-tolerance policy' going forward. CEO Park added, "To catch criminals and prevent harm, we will reorganize the response manual for personal information protection and cooperation with on-site crime investigations in consultation with responsible experts to maximize cooperation with investigative agencies."

Socar is conducting an investigation into the measures taken for the victim's family and the response process to the incident. CEO Park emphasized, "We will clearly identify the mistakes revealed during the investigation, take clear responsibility measures for the company, and immediately implement retraining for all customer center staff," adding, "We will establish and thoroughly implement recurrence prevention measures, such as creating a fast track for emergency situations."

The Chungnam Police Agency announced that they apprehended suspect A, a man in his 30s who lured an elementary school student he met through social networking services (SNS) and sexually assaulted her before fleeing. Suspect A is accused of sexually assaulting elementary school student B on the 6th. A used Socar while traveling between the Seoul metropolitan area and Chungcheong Province. The police requested information from Socar on the afternoon of the incident day, but Socar did not cooperate in providing the information, and only provided the suspect's information on the 8th, causing controversy.

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