The National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee Criticizes the National Police Agency for "Lack of Victim Sensitivity"... Responsibility Dispute Over the 'Sindang Station Murder Case'

Police Agency Accountability Criticized Over 'Warrant Request Dismissal'
Seoul Metro Urged to Provide "Next-Day Recurrence Prevention Measures"
Minister Kim Hyun-sook Also Criticized for Late Attendance

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The National Assembly's Women and Family Committee held the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Ministry of Justice, National Police Agency, Seoul Metro, and other related agencies accountable and urged them to devise countermeasures in connection with the Sindang Station attendant murder case.

On the morning of the 20th, the Women and Family Committee held a plenary session to conduct business reports and Q&A. On this day, Jeon Ju-hye, a member of the People Power Party, criticized Woo Jong-su, Deputy Commissioner of the National Police Agency, for the failure to issue an arrest warrant against the perpetrator, saying, "There is no sensitivity to the victim." Jeon said, "After the first arrest warrant was dismissed, the perpetrator sent 350 text messages to the victim," adding, "The National Police Agency should reflect on this. If the victim had to endure to the point of reporting, it means stalking recurred." She also questioned, "By whose standards was the warrant request criterion set?" and criticized, "The National Police Agency bears a great responsibility for the case escalating to murder."

In response, Deputy Commissioner Woo said, "Regarding the part where the warrant was not requested at the time, somewhat," and added, "We will take this incident as a lesson."

Yong Hye-in, a member of the Basic Income Party, also asked, "If the warrant request is being dismissed at such a high rate, what is the main reason for dismissal?" and "Please inform us of the criteria the Ministry of Justice uses to decide victim protection measures." In response, Lee No-gong, Vice Minister of Justice, said, "Provisional measures are considered based on the risk of recurrence, but there are slight differences in judgment," and "We are preparing additional countermeasures and will submit them to the member."

Regarding this, Kim Hyun-sook, Minister of Gender Equality and Family, said, "We were not notified by Seoul Metro about the victim's condition," and added, "What is heartbreaking about this case is that if the victim had received various counseling and legal support from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and had been advised on how to protect herself, protective measures could have been strengthened, and it would not have escalated to such a tragedy."

There were also questions pointing out the delayed countermeasures by the president of Seoul Metro. Additionally, Yang Yi-won-young, a member of the Democratic Party, asked Kim Sang-beom, president of Seoul Metro, "Is it true that the day after the incident occurred, you asked employees to submit ideas for measures to prevent recurrence at Sindang Station as per the Prime Minister's instructions?" Kim replied, "It was intended to hear better opinions additionally."

Regarding the issue of "two-person night shifts," he stated, "We will try to minimize environments where employees have to go alone at night as much as possible."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, a heated debate broke out over Minister Kim's attendance at the meeting that day. This was because she notified that she would attend the plenary session late due to attending a Cabinet meeting.

Yoo Jeong-ju, Democratic Party secretary, pointed out, "Today's meeting of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family is an urgent situation (related to stalking victim support)," and said, "It is necessary to check whether the Cabinet did not consider this matter urgent."

Wi Seong-gon, a Democratic Party member, also said, "I came here knowing that Minister Kim would attend today's meeting," adding, "I have no questions for the vice minister regarding the current issues. Since I prepared questions for the minister, I request the chairman to postpone the meeting time to 10:30."

In response, Jeong Gyeong-hee, secretary of the People Power Party, said, "Member Yoo said the minister's reason for attending the Cabinet meeting was unjustified, but the president went on an overseas trip, and several ministers accompanied him," adding, "It is well known that the Cabinet meeting is scheduled for Tuesday morning, and if the Cabinet meeting cannot be held, it becomes a big problem."

Jeong said, "Although the reason for having the vice minister attend is clear and natural, saying it is a problem is a political attack and does not correspond to the facts."

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