Police Sent Non-Prosecution Notice to Deceased Victim's Address... Bereaved Family Left Unaware as Document Was Destroyed

It has been confirmed that the bereaved family of the late Kim Gyeong-tae, who died after falling while inspecting an elevator at an apartment building in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, last year, failed to receive the non-prosecution decision notice due to a police administrative error.

Regarding the death of Kim, the Gyeonggi Suwon Yeongtong Police Station made non-prosecution decisions on January 3 and February 20 of this year for two individuals facing charges of professional negligence resulting in death.

Under the Criminal Procedure Act, when the police decide not to forward a case for prosecution, they must notify the complainant of the investigation results within seven days.

However, the police sent out the notice on April 23, about two months after the final non-prosecution decision was made.

Even then, they sent it to the former address of the deceased Kim rather than the address of the bereaved family who filed the complaint.

At the time, the police had the address and contact information of the bereaved family, but failed to check them properly.

The recipient on the mail was also written as "To the family of Kim Gyeong-tae."

Because Kim lived apart from his family while alive, the mail could not be delivered due to the absence of the recipient.

It was subsequently stored at the post office and ultimately destroyed last July.

Consequently, the bereaved family remained completely unaware of the non-prosecution outcome for months.

The police explained, "As the mail was not returned, we assumed it was delivered normally," adding, "We did not separately contact the bereaved family or resend the notice."

Regarding the delayed notification, they added, "We delayed sending it, considering the possibility that the decision could be overturned as the prosecution repeatedly requested supplementary investigations."

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 address of the deceased Kim."

The official stated, "We will strive to prevent recurrence, including strengthening training for the staff in charge so that the same mistake is not repeated."

Previously, Kim died after falling while performing elevator inspection work at an apartment building in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, on February 14 of last year.

Initially, the police sought to forward the two individuals accused of professional negligence resulting in death to the prosecution.

However, following three rounds of requests for supplementary investigations from the prosecution, they ultimately reached a non-prosecution decision.

Meanwhile, Kim's bereaved family attended the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee's parliamentary audit on the 6th.

The bereaved family expressed regret over the accident and urged the company to come up with measures to prevent a recurrence.

(Photo provided by Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.