The head of the Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency has issued an official apology regarding the case of a police officer who smashed his son's cell phone while the son was under investigation for attempting illicit filming, drawing public criticism.

This comes eight days after the incident was brought to light through SBS's reporting.

During a press conference today (August 4), Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency Chief Lee Jae-young stated, "I offer my sincere apologies to the residents of the province for showing such an undesirable side of the police."

Chief Lee bowed his head and said, "Because this case was forwarded before the 'Jang Yoon-ki case,' involving the murder of a high school girl, we were initially unaware of it." He added, "Following the revision of the Criminal Procedure Act, I believe we must ensure we are honorable and without shortcomings ourselves."

He continued, "The police station that handled the investigation failed to fully assess the situation, and we only became aware of this matter during a comprehensive inspection process," emphasizing, "Moving forward, we will thoroughly investigate not only the destruction of evidence but also whether there was any collusion with the investigative department."

Previously, Police Inspector A, who works at a substaiton in the Jeonju area, smashed his son's cell phone—the core piece of evidence in the son's attempted illicit filming case—by throwing it, and drew backlash by posting on the internal police network, claiming, "Even if I destroyed evidence, it is not an offense that can be punished."

Last month, the Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency conducted a search and seizure on Police Inspector A's residence and is investigating whether fellow police officers assisted in the destruction of evidence, similar to the Jang Yoon-ki case.

(Photo: Yonhap News)