Police Suspected of Inflating Performance After Splitting Single Theft Case Into 51 Separate Charges

Allegations have been raised that the Gumi Police Station in Gyeongsangbuk-do attempted to inflate its performance records by dividing a single theft case into dozens of separate reports.

According to the Gimcheon Branch of the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office and other sources today (August 26), it was revealed that a man in his 40s working at a supermarket in Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do, stole approximately 700,000 won worth of goods across 51 separate instances last March.

Following the investigation, the Gumi Police Station forwarded the case to the prosecution by splitting it into 51 individual theft cases, but the prosecution rejected the case filings.

An official from the Gimcheon Branch stated regarding the rejection, "We cannot disclose specific details as the investigation is still ongoing, but compared to similar matters, it is rare for a case to be filed by dividing it into dozens of separate counts."

Addressing the suspicions of performance inflation, the Gumi Police Station explained, "It was a mistake caused by the officer in charge being unfamiliar with the drafting guidelines."

During a phone interview with media outlets, an official from the Gumi Police Station admitted, "It is clearly our fault," while drawing a line against allegations of inflating performance records.

The official stated, "Internal guidelines for drafting theft occurrence reports were revised in 2016. Accordingly, multiple crimes occurring at the same location should be forwarded to the prosecution as a single case by noting the initial incident, but we confirmed that the responsible officer was not fully aware of this."

The official added, "We are internally reviewing measures such as conducting education to prevent recurrence," and emphasized, "It was a mistake due to a lack of familiarity with the guidelines, not an attempt to inflate our performance."

(Photo provided by Gumi Police Station, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.