Subtitled News: Wallet Reported to Police Station, But Cash Goes Missing—Did an Officer Take It?

The police have launched an investigation after approximately 400,000 won in cash and gift certificates went missing from a lost wallet that had been turned in to a police station.

On March 27, a report was filed at the Eoeun Community Policing Center under the Yuseong Police Station by a citizen who had found a wallet.

The wallet contained cash and department store gift certificates worth 420,000 won.

Following standard lost-and-found procedures, the police notified the owner of the wallet, a person in their 30s identified as A, who had previously reported the wallet as lost.

When A visited the police station to retrieve the wallet, they discovered that the cash and gift certificates were missing.

Having received no explanation regarding the whereabouts of the valuables, A suspected that the items had been stolen while in police custody and filed a complaint against the officials at the Yuseong Police Station for theft.

Generally, when a lost item is turned in at a community policing center or a patrol division, it is transferred to the lost-and-found department of the competent police station and kept securely until the owner arrives to claim it.

The Daejeon Jungbu Police Station, which has been assigned the case, is focusing on the fact that the valuables disappeared while in storage. They are investigating the possibility of internal misconduct and are looking into charges of embezzlement.

The police are currently investigating all individuals involved, including the staff who processed the lost item and those responsible for its storage.

The police stated, "If any wrongdoing is uncovered, we will proceed with both criminal charges and disciplinary actions against the individuals involved."

Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Jung Yong-hee | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.