Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Apologizes to the Deceased, Bereaved Families, and the Public in 'Personal Protection Woman Murder Case'

"Protecting the Lives and Safety of the People is the Police"
"We Failed to Protect Precious Lives... We Will Seriously Accept the Criticism"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Regarding the case in which a woman in her 30s, who was under police protection, was murdered in an officetel in Jung-gu, Seoul, the police have expressed their apology to the deceased, the bereaved family, and the public.

Choi Gwan-ho, Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, stated in a written press briefing on the 22nd, "As a police organization whose greatest reason for existence is to protect the lives and safety of the people, we seriously accept the public's criticism for failing to protect the precious life of a person who requested police assistance," and added, "We offer our deepest apologies to the deceased, the bereaved family, and the public."

He continued, "We believe this incident occurred because the police were not precise or swift and thorough enough, ultimately failing to protect public safety," and said, "Taking this incident as an opportunity, we will once again reflect on the police's purpose of 'protecting the lives and bodies of the people' and establish a 'Stalking Crime Response Improvement T/F' involving the head of the Jungbu Police Station and external experts to promptly develop effective measures and strive to prevent recurrence of similar cases."

On the morning of the 19th at around 11:30 a.m., a woman in her 30s, Ms. B, was found stabbed in the head with a sharp weapon and died in an officetel in Jung-gu, Seoul. When firefighters arrived, Ms. B was conscious but was undergoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation and was transported to a nearby hospital, where she ultimately passed away. Ms. B was a victim under protection due to dating violence. She made two emergency calls to the police using a smartwatch provided to her. However, criticisms have arisen that the police response was delayed due to system limitations, such as incorrect reporting of the location.

The police have currently applied for an arrest warrant for the suspect on charges of murder on the 21st, with a substantive hearing scheduled for the afternoon of the same day. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency stated, "The suspect has confessed to the crime, but the exact motive is still under investigation," and added, "There were a total of five prior reports, and depending on the situation, measures such as protection decisions (smartwatch provision), provisional actions, temporary shelter admission, and accompanying the reporter to visit and confirm safety at the residence were taken."

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency stated, "We take the loss of a precious life under police protection very seriously and will conduct a thorough review and improvement of the entire protection system to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future."

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