KORA senior police officer in his 50s who has worked in the Gyeongnam region for over 30 years is currently facing a high-level internal inspection over allegations including the sexual harassment of junior female officers. It has been learned that while this inappropriate behavior continued for years, it remained hidden for a long time due to his strong local influence.
First, reporter Son Gijun has this exclusive report.
<Reporter Son Gijun>
According to SBS reporting, the Korean National Police Agency's inspection division has launched an investigation into Senior Superintendent A of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency since early this month over suspicions including sexual misconduct.
The inspection team is focusing particularly on allegations of sexual harassment against junior female officers spanning several years. Starting this week, the National Police Agency's Human Rights Protection Division, which investigates internal sexual misconduct cases, has also been deployed.
The sexual harassment mostly took place during drinking gatherings, and the number of victims identified so far exceeds 10, which could further increase during additional investigations.
[Official from a local police station: I understand he had a lot of drinking gatherings, and by actively building relationships and managing his personal network well...]
A local police official stated, "The targets were not only employees from the same department but also those from other departments, and even female officers from neighborhood police boxes."
Senior Superintendent A, in his late 50s, is a so-called local-track officer who has spent most of his career spanning over 30 years working in Gyeongnam areas such as Geoje.
He reportedly earned the nickname "King of Geoje" due to the deep local connections he built while working for a long time as an intelligence police officer handling local information and trends.
The official said that his influence within the region prevented the details of the damage from coming to light until now.
The police have reportedly also secured circumstances indicating that Senior Superintendent A had junior female officers accompany him to drinking sessions with key local figures, such as businesspeople, where they were subjected to sexual harassment.
Following last month's SBS report on the death of a 20-year-old female firefighter who complained of workplace harassment including forced drinking, President Lee Jae-myung repeatedly urged the eradication of drinking customs and sexual misconduct in the public sector.
[President Lee Jae-myung (on the 15th): Drinking and having fun is all well and good, but do not make young people of the opposite sex sit next to you like that. That always leads to accidents. Young female employees are not playthings.]
Considering the gravity of the matter, the National Police Agency directly initiated an inspection—skipping the provincial police agency level which usually handles superintendent-rank officers—and relieved Senior Superintendent A of his duties.
(Photo: Yonhap News / Video by Jung Kyeong-mun, Video Editing by Lee Sang-min, Design by Choi Jin-hoe)
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The high-level inspection is expected to expand to close associates of this senior officer to determine who set up the problematic drinking parties and who mobilized the junior female officers. It has been confirmed that not only sexual misconduct but also allegations of abuse of power and insubordination have been placed under inspection.
Next, reporter Bae Seongjae has exclusive coverage.
<Reporter Bae Seongjae>
The National Police Agency inspection team understands that Senior Superintendent A did not directly organize the drinking gatherings where the sexual harassment took place.
Instead, two male and female police officers close to Senior Superintendent A primarily arranged the drinking sessions, and when they called junior female officers, Senior Superintendent A would show up unannounced and commit acts of sexual harassment.
The inspection team has reportedly placed these two officers under inspection alongside Senior Superintendent A.
A local police official stated, "Senior police officers acted almost like pimps."
The inspection team is also verifying allegations of workplace abuse of power, including suspicions that other staff members paid for Senior Superintendent A's drinks, that Senior Superintendent A demanded junior staff drive him to and from work, and that he made them clean the fish tank in his office.
SBS reporting confirmed that when Senior Superintendent A was reassigned to another police station in the Gyeongnam region during the regular personnel reshuffle last May, he went directly to find the head of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency to protest in an act of insubordination.
When Senior Superintendent B, a high school junior who was present at the scene, tried to stop him, Senior Superintendent A reportedly hurled verbal abuse at his superior, telling him to stay out of it as a junior.
In a phone call with SBS, Senior Superintendent A stated, "I will state my position regarding allegations such as abuse of power and insubordination after the inspection results come out," adding, "I have never coercively called female officers to dinner gatherings or sexually harassed them."
In addition, when asked if he was aware of the nickname "King of Geoje," he said, "I am merely a division head, and such a nickname is absurd."
(Video Editing by Park Na-young, Design by Park Tae-young)
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Let us talk further with reporter Son Gijun, who covered this story.
Q. How was this kind of behavior possible?
[Reporter Son Gijun: During the reporting process, a police official mentioned that at the police station where Senior Superintendent A worked, there was even a saying that "the division head's office moves the police chief's office." It meant that Senior Superintendent A, having worked for a long time as an intelligence police officer in the region, manipulated even the periodically changing police chiefs. Considering that he reportedly went as far as confronting the head of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency to express dissatisfaction with his personnel transfer—even resorting to verbal abuse—his influence was clearly immense. As a result, it appeared that some senior officers following Senior Superintendent A helped gather junior female officers at drinking parties and effectively facilitated sexual misconduct. It is reported that most of the junior female officers who suffered sexual harassment and employees who experienced abuse of power could not easily speak up. A local police official expressed support for the National Police Agency's high-level inspection to the SBS reporting team, saying, "I felt like a fool for staying silent without being able to say anything."]
Q. The "Local Police Favouritism Controversy" Comes to Light... What is the Status of the Inspection?
[Reporter Son Gijun: It has been learned that after being relieved of his duties, Senior Superintendent A applied for extended sick leave. In a phone call with the reporting team, Senior Superintendent A flatly stated, "I do not even know the exact reason why the National Police Agency is conducting an inspection, and there is no truth to the allegations of sexual harassment or abuse of power." Currently, investigations into the victims are taking place prior to questioning the subject himself. The police agency plans to proceed with a formal investigation if the allegations of misconduct are confirmed to be true through the inspection.]
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
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