▲ Gyeonggi Suwon Yeongtong Police Station
It has been confirmed that the bereaved family of the late Kim Kyung-tae, who died after falling while inspecting an elevator at an apartment building in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, last year, failed to receive the notice of the decision not to transfer the case due to a police administrative error.
The Suwon Yeongtong Police Station in Gyeonggi Province made non-prosecution decisions on January 3 and February 20 of this year, respectively, regarding two individuals facing professional negligence resulting in death charges in connection with Kim's death.
Under the Criminal Procedure Act, the police must notify the complainant of the investigation results within seven days of making a non-prosecution decision.
However, the police dispatched the notice on April 23, about two months after the final non-prosecution decision was made.
To make matters worse, they sent it to the deceased Kim's address while he was alive, rather than the address of the bereaved family who were the complainants.
The police had secured the address and contact information of the bereaved family at the time, but failed to check them properly.
The recipient of the mail was also written as "To the family of Kim Kyung-tae."
Because Kim lived apart from his family while he was alive, the mail could not be delivered due to the absence of the recipient.
It was subsequently kept at the post office and ultimately disposed of last July.
Consequently, the bereaved family remained completely unaware of the non-prosecution results for several months.
The police explained, "As the mail was not returned, we assumed it was successfully delivered," adding, "We did not separately contact the bereaved family or resend the notice."
Regarding the delayed notification, they added, "As the prosecution repeatedly requested supplementary investigations, we delayed sending it, considering the possibility that the decision might be overturned."
A police official admitted, "We should have sent the notice to the address of the bereaved family, but there was an administrative error in mistakenly sending it to the deceased Kim's address."
They stated, "We will strive to prevent recurrence by strengthening training for staff members so that the same mistake is not repeated."
Previously, Kim fell and died while performing elevator maintenance work at an apartment building in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, on February 14 of last year.
Initially, the police intended to forward two individuals facing professional negligence resulting in death charges to the prosecution.
However, after going through three requests for supplementary investigations from the prosecution, they ultimately reached a non-prosecution decision.
Meanwhile, Kim's bereaved family attended the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee audit on October 6.
The bereaved family urged an expression of regret over the accident and called on the company to devise measures to prevent recurrence.
(Photo provided by Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.