Weekend-Free Work Leads to Line-of-Duty Death Approval for Busan Police Officer Lee Jong-chan

Busan Police Agency late Sergeant Lee Jong-chan. [Image source=Busan Police Agency]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Lee Jong-chan, a police inspector affiliated with the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency who died from overwork while working on weekends without holidays at the age of 36, has been recognized as having died in the line of duty and officially declared a police officer who died in the line of duty.

According to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, on the 22nd, the Ministry of Personnel Management recognized Inspector Lee, who collapsed due to a cerebral hemorrhage in February last year and died while receiving treatment, as having died in the line of duty and approved his death as a line-of-duty death.

Inspector Lee collapsed at his home around 5 a.m. on February 12 last year while preparing to go to work and was transported to the hospital. He regained consciousness once during treatment but ultimately passed away on the 17th of the same month.

After graduating from the Korean National Police University, Inspector Lee was appointed in 2008 and worked at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency before moving to his hometown Busan in 2019 to continue his service.

Since February 2019, he served as the head of the intelligence division at the Jungbu Police Station in Busan. Due to the many gatherings and events in his jurisdiction, he worked on weekends without taking days off.

In early February last year, Inspector Lee was transferred to the Audit and Inspection Office of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency during the regular personnel reshuffle, but he collapsed just a few days after the transfer.

Considering the connection between Inspector Lee’s death and his work, the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency applied for recognition of his death as a line-of-duty death at the end of August last year. They received approval notification from the Ministry of Personnel Management this afternoon.

With the approval of the line-of-duty death, Inspector Lee’s family will receive a monthly survivor’s pension, and a lump-sum survivor compensation will also be paid. Inspector Lee is survived by his wife, a 4-year-old daughter, and a 3-year-old son.

A representative of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency stated, “We plan to apply for a posthumous promotion of one rank for Inspector Lee,” and added, “Since those who die in the line of duty can be buried at the National Cemetery, we will support the procedures after consulting with the bereaved family.”

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