Exclusive: Bereaved Family Demands Investigation into Alleged Workplace Bullying Leading to Officer's Death

[Anchor]

A week ago, a police officer took his own life, leaving behind a suicide note stating that he was struggling because of his superior. It was just three days before his first wedding anniversary. SBS met with the bereaved family to hear their story.

Reporter Lee Se-hyeon has the story.

[Reporter]

"I am only struggling because of the division chief."

There are traces of ink where he tried to cross out the scribbled words, and smudges that appear to be from fallen tears.

On the 17th, Police Officer A, who worked in the administration division of a police station in the metropolitan area, was found dead after leaving a suicide note expressing resentment toward his superior, Superintendent B.

In the note, he repeatedly emphasized that his decision was not the fault of his other colleagues or his family.

After the funeral, the bereaved family met with SBS reporters and identified workplace bullying by Superintendent B, who had been Officer A's supervisor for the past three months, as the cause.

[Bereaved family member of Officer A: After the chief arrived, he called (his mother) often. 'He seems like such a fastidious person with a germ phobia. It gives me a headache.']

The family claims that the superior would order him to revise report phrasing every hour, demanding changes down to the smallest expression.

[Bereaved family member of Officer A: He said he couldn't do any other work and was just constantly making revisions.]

They also alleged that Superintendent B repeatedly issued unreasonable work orders, such as requiring Officer A to work on weekends to manage air conditioner cleaning and assigning him to pull weeds in the flower beds.

[Bereaved family member of Officer A: He even had to clean the air conditioners on the weekend and pull weeds... (Why would a police officer have to pull weeds?)]

The family expressed their outrage, stating that over the past three months, Officer A frequently spoke of self-deprecation, feeling as though he lacked ability, and often said he was afraid of the morning and could not sleep well.

[Oh Soo-young / Labor Attorney: We must comprehensively (assess) whether there was a work-related necessity and whether such mental distress was inflicted upon the employee.]

It is reported that Superintendent B visited the funeral parlor and apologized to the family, while also explaining that he was merely trying to be thorough with the work.

Meanwhile, the police station reportedly stated that "the air conditioner cleaning took place on the weekend due to the contractor's schedule, and other staff members also participated in the flower bed maintenance."

Reporters attempted to contact Superintendent B multiple times to hear his side, but he could not be reached.

The bereaved family reiterated that the truth must be clearly revealed through an internal inspection.

[Bereaved family member of Officer A: If police officers on the front lines are suffering like this due to workplace bullying and even taking their own lives, isn't that a problem? If there is a problem with the system, the system should be improved...]

(Video Editing: Lee Seung-hee, VJ: Noh Jae-min, Design: Kim Ye-ji)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.