Police Place Four Senior Officers on Standby for Inadequate Response to 'Stalking Murder' Case

Guri Police Chief and Head of Women and Juvenile Division at Gyeonggi Northern Police Agency

The police have placed four senior officers on standby duty for their inadequate response to the Namyangju stalking and murder case.

On the morning of April 13, at a regular briefing held at the National Police Agency in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Park Sungjoo, Commissioner General of the National Investigation Headquarters, stated, "A total of 18 individuals are subject to disciplinary committee referral," and added, "Four officers at the rank of Superintendent and above have been placed on standby duty, while 14 others at the rank of Inspector and below have been transferred to other departments." The officers at the Senior Superintendent level include the former Chief of Guri Police Station and the former Head of the Women and Juvenile Division at Gyeonggi Northern Police Agency, while the identities of the remaining two Superintendents are difficult to confirm.

National Police Agency, Seoul Seodaemun-gu. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang

On March 14, a man in his 40s was arrested on charges of killing a woman in her 20s with whom he had previously been in a de facto marriage. The suspect, whose identity has been disclosed as Kim Hoon (44), had been reported multiple times for violence and stalking, but the police failed to apply for an interim measure under the Stalking Punishment Act, specifically Measure 3-2 (the attachment of an electronic location tracking device), which has become a point of criticism.

Additionally, the police did not conduct a psychopathy (antisocial personality disorder) assessment, believing that the motive was revenge, but during supplementary investigations by the prosecution, Kim was diagnosed as a psychopath. He scored 33 out of 40, exceeding the diagnostic threshold of 25 points, and received 18 out of 30 points on the violent crime recidivism risk assessment.

After criticism over the inadequate response, the police launched a full review of relationship-based crimes and reclassified 1,626 cases as high-risk out of the 22,388 ongoing investigations. Among these, arrest warrants were requested for 389 cases, and 460 suspects were detained. Applications for electronic location tracking devices and similar measures were made in 371 cases.

In response to criticism that these measures were too late, Commissioner General Park said, "I believe the media is well aware that we are actively applying for warrants in consideration of the likelihood of recidivism in relationship-based crimes," and added, "We are managing cases more thoroughly and are determined to respond so that no further victims occur, and we ask for your understanding in this effort."

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