[Anchor]
There has been another incident where a police officer destroyed evidence of a crime committed by a family member. A mid-ranking police officer in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, discarded the smartphone of his son, who was caught red-handed for illegal filming. This fact came to light belatedly during a nationwide full inspection of cases involving police families, which was launched in the wake of the Jang Yoon-gi case.
This is an exclusive report by reporter An Huijae.
[Reporter]
This is a post uploaded to the internal police network last night (July 26).
It states that upon hearing the shocking news that his once-innocent high school son had been caught attempting to illegally film a female teacher, he was so overwhelmed with shock that he smashed the smartphone.
According to SBS's reporting, the author of the post has been confirmed as Inspector A from a police box in the Jeonju area, North Jeolla Province.
This effectively amounts to a confession by a serving police inspector that he concealed a smartphone that could serve as key evidence in an illegal filming crime. The police, who launched an investigation following a complaint by the victimized female teacher, forwarded Inspector A's son to the prosecution at the end of May and recently booked Inspector A on charges of destroying evidence.
Following SBS reports exposing suspicions of investigative malpractice in the Jang Yoon-gi case—which involved a high-ranking police officer's father—the police leadership rolled out reform measures. It is reported that Inspector A's case was uncovered during the subsequent full-scale investigation into cases involving police family members.
[Yoo Jae-seong, Acting Commissioner General of the Korean National Police Agency (July 10): "We will more thoroughly investigate and take resolute action against any malpractice or corruption in police investigations."]
The Jeonju Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency has initiated coercive investigation procedures, including executing a search and seizure warrant at Inspector A's home last week.
A police official explained that while penal provisions are exempted for lineal blood relatives under the special provisions for punishment between family members, booking a suspect is still legally possible, adding that they are currently verifying suspicions of investigative interference such as the destruction of evidence.
In the internal network post, Inspector A claimed it was unfair and unjust to compare his case to the Jang Yoon-gi case. However, fellow police officers have reacted coldly, leaving comments such as "The victimized teacher is also someone's child" and "Do not adjust your hat under a plum tree" (meaning avoid actions that arouse suspicion).
(Video by Choi Dae-woong | Video editing by Choi Hye-ran | Design by Park Tae-young and Choi Ha-neul)
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