Can the Police, Who Failed to Protect Citizens' Lives, Reform Their System?

Citizens Outraged Over Consecutive Police Negligence Cases
Smartwatch GPS Error Missed 'Golden Time' Despite Victim's Report in Officetel Murder Case
Experts Say "Smartwatch Errors Not Fixed Despite Similar Past Cases... Police Lacked Professionalism"

The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] "Is it reasonable for the police, who are supposed to protect citizens' lives, to run away scared from a knife-wielding criminal?", "Dismiss the incompetent police."

Following the Incheon stabbing incident, the police are facing a barrage of criticism over their consecutive 'poor responses' to the Seoul officetel murder case. There are accusations that the police, who should prioritize protecting citizens' lives, neglected their duties. Although the police have repeatedly bowed their heads and promised to devise countermeasures, public outrage remains unabated.

On the morning of the 19th, a woman in her 30s, who was under police protection, was stabbed to death at an officetel in Jung-gu, Seoul. The victim, Ms. A, sent emergency rescue signals twice using her issued smartwatch, but the police dispatched to Myeongdong, Seoul, which was far from the incident site, causing them to miss the 'golden time.' This was because the victim's smartwatch transmitted a location about 500 meters away from the scene due to a GPS error.

The issue of GPS location errors in smartwatches was already raised four years ago. On August 21, 2017, a woman in her 50s, who was under police protection due to threats from her ex-cohabitant in Gangseo-gu, Busan, was murdered. The victim, who ran a bar, pressed the smartwatch button to report when the perpetrator came to the bar, but due to GPS errors, only the location of a nearby base station was transmitted.

As a result, the police, unable to determine the exact location, dispatched to the victim's home instead of the scene, and the victim was found stabbed to death about 10 minutes after sending the call signal via the smartwatch. This has led to criticism that the police protection system has revealed vulnerabilities.

Professor Oh Yoon-sung of Soonchunhyang University’s Police Administration Department pointed out, "When a similar incident occurred in Gangseo-gu, Busan in 2017, the police announced they would fix the GPS location error in smartwatches, but it has not yet been addressed."

There are also criticisms regarding the police's insufficient preemptive response to stalking crimes. According to the police on the 22nd, the victim Ms. A reportedly filed six reports this year against the suspect Mr. B for stalking and other offenses. The police took measures such as isolation and issuing warnings to Mr. B, but considering the multiple prior reports, stronger preemptive action was necessary.

However, Professor Oh explained the criticism about insufficient protection for the stalking victim in this case by saying, "The police had been continuously providing accompaniment protection for the victim even before the incident. The police cannot follow the victim 24 hours a day. They can only accompany and protect when requested by the victim, and unfortunately, this tragedy occurred when the police were not accompanying her."

A man in his 30s who killed a woman under police protection due to stalking and fled was captured by the police and entered the Jungbu Police Station in Seoul on the afternoon of the 20th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

There is also fierce controversy over the police response to the Incheon inter-floor noise stabbing incident. On the 15th, at a villa in Namdong-gu, Incheon, the perpetrator wielded a knife against the complainant, but the responding police officers left the scene citing the need for ambulance and support requests. Meanwhile, the police officer on the lower floor did not immediately come up to the scene, and the victim was stabbed.

At the time of the incident, the two police officers were armed with a pistol and a Taser but reportedly did not subdue the perpetrator.

The victim's family expressed anger over the police's poor response. On the 21st, a petitioner claiming to be a family member of the victim posted a petition titled "I accuse Incheon Nonhyeon Police Station over police response issues in the inter-floor noise attempted murder case" on the Blue House National Petition Board. The petitioner appealed, "The police created and escalated this incident. How can such a thing happen in this country?"

The petitioner vented frustration, stating, "Before the incident, the perpetrator was reported multiple times for murder threats and sexual harassment, but the responding police dismissed it as a simple inter-floor noise issue and left without taking action." They also claimed that on the day of the incident, the police did not properly separate the victim and perpetrator, nor did they actively restrain the perpetrator during the stabbing rampage.

The petitioner emphasized, "It would not be surprising if the police themselves were the criminals in this situation," and stressed, "Strict punishment is necessary to root out such internal police problems at the national level." As of 2 p.m. on the 23rd, the petition had garnered over 230,000 supporters, meeting the threshold for a Blue House response.

On the 21st, a petitioner who introduced themselves as a family member of a victim in the Incheon stabbing incident posted on the Blue House National Petition Board. Photo by Blue House National Petition Board capture

President Moon Jae-in also reprimanded the police over their poor response to the Incheon inter-floor noise stabbing incident. According to a briefing by Blue House spokesperson Park Kyung-mi at the Chuncheon Press Center on the 22nd, President Moon said, "The police's foremost duty is to protect the lives and safety of citizens, but an unacceptable incident occurred," and ordered, "Strengthen training and education and improve the system to prevent such incidents from happening again."

Feeling the gravity of the situation, the police expressed apologies and announced plans to establish a task force (TF) to improve responses to stalking crimes. On the same day, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency stated, "The chief and all Seoul police officers deeply regret this. We take the public's criticism seriously and offer our sincere apologies to the deceased, their families, and the public. We admit our failure in response and have decided to form a task force to improve stalking crime responses based on this incident."

They added, "This incident reflects that the police were not precise, swift, or thorough enough, ultimately failing to protect public safety," and "We take seriously the loss of a precious life while under police protection."

Experts emphasized that the incident reflected a lack of professional awareness among the police. Professor Oh said, "In the Incheon inter-floor noise stabbing incident, the police have no excuse. One officer left the scene, and the officer on the lower floor did not follow up," adding, "This is not about the recently raised issue of female versus male officers, but a fundamental problem of professional awareness as police officers."

He further stressed the need to strengthen police recruitment procedures. Professor Oh said, "The police's role on the ground is crucial, and for that, they must have basic capabilities," adding, "Physical fitness tests should be enhanced, and mental capabilities should also be considered important recruitment criteria."

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