On the Day of Ulleungdo Air Raid Alert, the Police Chief Left Work Early at 5 PM
Flexible workday with work from 8 AM to 5 PM followed by garden work
Chief says, "Did not break rules but sorry for causing inconvenience"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyun-jung] On the day an air raid alert was issued across Ulleungdo due to North Korea's ballistic missile launch, it has been revealed that the chief of the Ulleung Police Station left work early at 5 p.m. citing a flexible workday, sparking controversy.
According to a report by The Fact on the 3rd, on the 2nd, Kim Dong-hyeok, chief of the Ulleung Police Station, left work an hour earlier than the normal time at 5 p.m. and harvested lettuce grown in the police residence's garden. At that time, Kim's actions were fully captured on a local resident's mobile phone camera. Regarding this, Chief Kim stated, "Every Wednesday is a flexible workday, so I started work at 8 a.m. and left at 5 p.m."
However, opinions are divided on whether flexible work was appropriate on that day, as North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the East Sea and an air raid alert was issued across Ulleungdo at 8:55 a.m. Since the missile was headed toward Ulleungdo, an air raid alert was automatically sent to the island, causing sirens to sound for 2 to 3 minutes and sending underground shelter messages to public officials, resulting in significant confusion. This was the first time an air raid alert was issued on Ulleungdo. The alert was downgraded to a warning at 2 p.m. and completely lifted at 10 p.m.
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In a phone interview with Yonhap News, Chief Kim explained, "During the warning alert, there is a regulation that allows being within an hour's distance from the police station, and since the residence is right next to the station, I intended to wait there. If instructions to be at the designated post had been issued, I would have complied, but it was a 'heightened alert' situation." He added, "Although I did not violate any regulations, I apologize for causing inconvenience to the residents."
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