Police Bowed Their Heads... Growing Public Outrage

Commissioner Kim Chang-ryong's Commander Video Conference
Discussion on Measures for Incheon Stabbing Incident
Cheong Bulletin Board Surpasses 200,000, Flooded with Criticism
Need for Stronger Punishment and Organizational Culture Innovation

A man in his 30s who killed a woman under police protection due to dating violence and fled was caught by the police within a day and is entering the Jungbu Police Station in Seoul on the afternoon of the 20th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Despite the police chief bowing his head over the police's repeated 'inadequate response,' public outrage is growing even stronger.

On the morning of the 22nd, Kim Chang-ryong, Commissioner of the National Police Agency, presided over a nationwide commanders' video conference attended by all city and provincial police chiefs and police station chiefs to discuss the problems identified in the police response to the Incheon inter-floor noise stabbing incident and the Seoul Jung-gu officetel murder case, as well as measures to prevent recurrence.

Earlier, Lieutenant A and Police Officer B, belonging to a district unit of the Nonhyeon Police Station in Incheon, were criticized for leaving the scene or failing to join in time during the stabbing incident that occurred around 5 p.m. on the 15th at a villa in Namdong-gu, Incheon, which exacerbated the damage. Commissioner Kim bowed his head and apologized deeply to the victims, their families, and the public, saying, "Protecting the lives and safety of the people is the most important mission and calling of the police, yet we failed to protect the people in danger in this incident." He added, "We have already started an internal investigation into the two police officers from the Nonhyeon Police Station who were on standby, and after a swift and thorough investigation, we will take strict measures." Regarding this incident, the National Police Agency also suspended Lee Sang-gil, the chief of Nonhyeon Police Station.

However, criticism is pouring in over the police's self-serving explanations and inadequate follow-up measures. A petition titled "We accuse Nonhyeon Police Station in Incheon of police response problems in the attempted murder case during daily inter-floor noise reporting. This is not a noise issue," posted by the victim's family on the Blue House's public petition board on the 19th, had over 210,000 supporters as of 9:30 a.m. that day, meeting the threshold for a Blue House response. Another petition demanding the dismissal of the police officers who abandoned the victim and fled has gathered about 25,000 supporters, reflecting the public's anger toward the police who failed to uphold their basic duties.

Cheong Wa Dae National Petition.

In the Jung-gu officetel murder case where the protected person was killed, the police's preparation regarding the Stalking Punishment Act and related legislation was insufficient, and vulnerabilities in the personal protection system were exposed. Since the Stalking Punishment Act came into effect on the 21st of last month, 3,314 stalking reports have been received within a month, averaging over 100 cases per day. This is more than four times the daily average of 24 cases before the law was enacted. As of the 17th, a total of 277 cases have been recognized as crimes and registered. There are calls for stronger criminal penalties for repeated and continuous stalking.

Experts view this situation as a culmination of accumulated issues in police organizational culture, the gap between leadership and the field, and the continuous weakening of public authority, rather than the fault of individual officers. Professor Lee Woong-hyuk of Konkuk University's Department of Police Science stated, "The biggest problem is that the police failed to subdue the perpetrator despite the victim being clearly in danger," and added, "It highlights that police education, organizational management, field response, and organizational culture have all become too weak overall." He continued, "Although the police's appearance has changed with the adjustment of investigative authority and the implementation of the autonomous police system, the internal structure remains the same. If the police's field response capability weakens, only the public suffers. The police must be equipped with appropriate training and equipment and conduct in-depth internal organizational diagnostics to fundamentally identify problems and seek solutions."

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