140 Missing Ammunition Rounds at Prisons; Police Suspect Disappeared Years Ago

Police investigating the missing ammunition cases at the Daejeon and Cheonan prisons have reportedly concluded that the ammunition appears to have vanished several years ago.

According to the Daejeon Yuseong Police Station on September 10, police are investigating employee A, who was in charge of ammunition management at the Daejeon Prison, on charges of professional embezzlement following a request for investigation from the Ministry of Justice early last month.

Based on reference witness interrogations involving officials from the Ministry of Justice and ammunition suppliers, as well as evidence such as secured ammunition ledger management records, Daejeon police believe that the 100 rounds of ammunition disappeared around 2020.

While the whereabouts of the missing live rounds remain unconfirmed, police view it as highly likely that the ammunition was lost due to poor management rather than being intentionally stolen by the responsible employee.

No circumstances indicating that employee A intentionally embezzled the ammunition have been identified to date.

During police questioning, employee A actively denied the charges, but reportedly could not accurately recall how or when the ammunition went missing.

The Seobuk Police Station in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, is also investigating employee B on charges of professional embezzlement in connection with the disappearance of 40 rounds of ammunition at the Cheonan Prison.

A police official stated, "It is also estimated that the ammunition at the Cheonan Prison went missing at least several years ago," adding, "While the investigation is underway under charges of embezzlement, we cannot rule out the possibility that routine and performal inspections over time—without calculating exact quantities during the ammunition management process—resulted in a discrepancy in the numbers."

Previously, the Ministry of Justice discovered during a comprehensive audit of the Daejeon Prison conducted in June that the 9mm K-5 ammunition recorded in the ledger was 100 rounds short of the actual quantity, leading to an internal investigation.

While it was confirmed that there was no possibility of errors or misentries in the ammunition management ledgers or loss within the ammunition storage facility, subsequent full-scale inspections of correctional facilities nationwide regarding firearm and ammunition management status revealed that 40 rounds of 5.56mm M16 ammunition were also missing from the ledger at the Cheonan Prison.

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