Police Sent Non-Prosecution Notice to Deceased Victim's Address… Bereaved Family Unaware Before It Was Destroyed

It has been confirmed that the bereaved family of the late Kim Kyung-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.

The Gyeonggi Suwon Yeongtong Police Station issued non-prosecution decisions on January 3 and February 20 of this year for two individuals facing professional negligence resulting in death charges regarding Kim's death.

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

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

Even then, they sent it to the deceased Kim's past address rather than the address of the bereaved family, who were the complainants.

The police had secured the bereaved family's address and contact information at the time, but failed to check them properly.

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

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

It was subsequently kept at the post office and ultimately disposed of last July.

As a result, the bereaved family remained completely unaware of the non-prosecution results for months.

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

Regarding the delay in notification, they added, "We delayed sending it considering the possibility that the decision might be overturned as the prosecution (currently the prosecution service) repeatedly requested supplementary investigations."

A police official acknowledged, "We should have sent the notice to the bereaved family's address, but there was an administrative error of mistakenly sending it to the deceased Kim's address."

They stated, "We will strive to prevent recurrence by strengthening training for staff members 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 intended to forward the two individuals facing professional negligence resulting in death charges 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's Public Administration and Security Committee audit on October 6.

The bereaved family urged for an expression of regret over the accident and the establishment of preventive measures by the company.

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