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The investigation into a regional police official known as the so-called "King of Geoje" has been expanded to an incumbent senior superintendent general, one of the highest ranks in the police force. The allegations of sexual misconduct against junior female police officers have also been converted from an internal inspection to a formal investigation.

Reporting by reporter Son Gijun.

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Despite being deemed "unqualified" due to suspicions of local collusion during a National Police Agency-level qualification review in 2023, Senior Inspector A was appointed as the head of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency's metropolitan intelligence team in February of the following year.

Although he unleashed verbal abuse and threats against the review committee members at the time, it did not pose a problem, and he instead received a promotion.

According to SBS coverage, the National Police Agency's inspection team investigating the related allegations recently questioned Kim Byeong-woo, the current head of the Daegu Provincial Police Agency and former chief of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency at the time, regarding the circumstances of Senior Inspector A's appointment.

In a phone call with SBS, Senior Superintendent General Kim stated, "I told the inspection team exactly what happened," adding, "At the time, Senior Inspector A was the only applicant, and there were no other qualified candidates."

He also added that because shipyards are densely concentrated in the Geoje region, leading to frequent labor-management disputes, "I felt burdened by the prospect of leaving that position vacant."

At the same time, regarding SBS reports that Senior Inspector A had verbally abused the review committee members and pressured people around him by telling them "not to apply for the metropolitan intelligence team position," he stated, "I was not aware of such matters at the time" and "I am not even acquainted with Senior Inspector A."

However, a police official who participated in the review at the time stated, "There were many calls from high-ranking officials at the former Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency and the National Police Agency to the National Police Agency with the intent to 'rescue him.'"

The National Police Agency's inspection team is not ruling out the possibility that ties with so-called "higher-ups" may have played a role in enabling Senior Inspector A to continuously serve in key regional posts despite committing various irregularities over a long period.

It was confirmed that the National Police Agency converted its internal inspection regarding Senior Inspector A's alleged sexual misconduct against junior female police officers into a formal investigation starting the day before yesterday (July 30).

(Video Editing: Shin Se-eun, Design: Park Cheon-woong)