Police investigating the missing ammunition cases at the Daejeon and Cheonan prisons have reportedly concluded that the ammunition disappeared several years ago.

According to the Daejeon Yuseong Police Station on September 10, police have been investigating an ammunition management employee, A, from the Daejeon Prison on charges of occupational embezzlement following a request for investigation by the Ministry of Justice early last month.

Based on evidence including management logs and reference witness interviews conducted with Ministry of Justice and ammunition supplier officials, Daejeon police believe that 100 rounds of the ammunition went missing around 2020.

The whereabouts of the missing live rounds remain unknown, and police lean toward the possibility that they were lost due to poor management rather than being intentionally stolen by the responsible employee.

No circumstances indicating that employee A intentionally stole the ammunition have been identified so far.

Employee A reportedly actively denied the charges during police questioning, but does not accurately remember the circumstances or timing of the ammunition's disappearance.

Meanwhile, the Seobuk Police Station in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, is also investigating an employee, B, at the Cheonan Prison on charges of occupational embezzlement regarding the loss of 40 rounds of ammunition.

A police official stated, "It is estimated that the ammunition at the Cheonan Prison also went missing at least several years ago," adding, "While the investigation is underway under embezzlement charges, it is difficult to rule out the possibility that the discrepancy arose from perfunctory inspections over the years without accurately calculating exact quantities during the ammunition management process."

Previously, during a comprehensive audit of the Daejeon Prison in June, the Ministry of Justice discovered that the actual quantity of 9mm K-5 ammunition was 100 rounds short of what was recorded in the ledger, prompting an internal investigation.

While it was confirmed that there were no ledger errors, misentries, or possibilities of loss inside the armory, a subsequent nationwide total inspection of correctional facilities' firearm and ammunition management practices revealed that 40 rounds of 5.56mm M16 ammunition were also missing from the ledger at the Cheonan Prison.

(Photo: Yonhap News)