"Everyone Possessed by Bangguseok Conan"... Some Police Angered by Criticism of 'Slow Investigation in Hangang Incident'

Police officers searching the mobile phone of the late Son Jeong-min's friend near the water taxi dock at Banpo Hangang Park, Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 11th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] Some presumed employees affiliated with the police agency expressed discomfort after criticism arose regarding the police's "delayed investigation" in connection with the case of the late Son Jeongmin (22), who was found dead five days after going missing at Banpo Hangang in Seoul.

On the 6th, a rebuttal post by a netizen presumed to be a police officer was uploaded on the anonymous workplace community "Blind."

The author began by saying, "For those spreading conspiracy theories, unfortunate incidents like medical students going missing at Hangang happen several times every day."

He added, "Investigations are confidential by principle," and questioned, "Just because a case gets media coverage, do we have to report the investigation progress to the general public every time?"

This appears to refer to the "Regulations on Prohibition of Disclosure of Criminal Cases," which stipulate that details related to a case cannot be disclosed to the media before prosecution and trial.

A post written by a netizen presumed by the police in relation to the police investigation of the 'Han River University Student Disappearance Case.' Photo by Online Community Capture

Regarding the police investigation of the 'Han River University Student Disappearance Case,' a post presumed to be written by a netizen according to the police. Photo by Online Community Capture

He continued, "Since the case is receiving nationwide attention, the detective team in charge must be fully focused on it, probably unable to leave work and meticulously reviewing everything," and pointed out, "Other cases assigned to that team are indefinitely delayed."

He then argued, "What about the CCTV or black box footage for the cases that get pushed back? Can't other teams check them? Then wouldn't the cases those teams are handling also get delayed?" raising a chain problem.

The author expressed discomfort, saying, "Just because a case gets media coverage, it’s considered important, and other cases that don’t get coverage are insignificant? If you keep spreading baseless conspiracy theories, we have to write investigation reports, issue press releases, and prepare responses for those too. Everything keeps getting pushed back."

He stated, "I understand people’s interest since we are human, but seeing people bite the police and chase rumors in unfinished cases just because it’s the moment for it makes me sigh, and thinking about the investigation department staff who can’t escape and work hard without weekends without recognition makes me feel frustrated."

A post written by a netizen presumed by the police in relation to the police investigation of the 'Han River University Student Disappearance Case.' Photo by Online Community Capture

Following this, replies from other presumed police officers who shared the author’s views continued. One presumed police officer sarcastically said, "Everyone acts like they’re Detective Conan at home solving cases, but I wonder what they’d say if their own case got delayed."

He added, "Do you think everything in the media is true? If a case didn’t get media coverage, it might be easier to let it stagnate, but do you think it’s possible to just let a case that got media coverage stagnate? The people in charge of this case are just barely breaking even."

He criticized, "Putting praise aside, the people in charge who are staying up all night and facing all kinds of pressure are pitiful," and said, "Why are there so many Detective Conans in Korea?"

Other criticisms followed, such as "It seems like the Conans want their friend to be a murderer," and "Cases already filed and ongoing at Seocho Police Station must have almost come to a complete stop; will the Conans wipe the tears of those victims?"

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