[단독]At the end of the investigation in Yong-gu, the National Police Agency was instructed to “report an important case”

In connection with the suspicion that Seoul’s Seocho Police Station conducted a’look-at-investigation’ in the case of the assault of a taxi driver by Vice Minister of Justice Yong-gu Yong-gu, the National Police Agency instructed the front line police station several days before the incident to “report thoroughly in critical cases”. However, Seo Cho-seo has clarified that “they did not report the case of this vice-minister to a high-level government office.” This is contrary to the guidelines of the National Police Agency.

According to data recently submitted by the National Police Agency by Kim Hyeong-dong, a member of the National Assembly’s Administrative Safety Committee, the National Police Agency sent an official letter of “reporting important incidents and ordering emphasis on investigation and command” to the Seoul Police Agency and other national city and provincial police offices. Each city/province police office and affiliated police stations Make sure to report important investigations such as important cases and cases with a high social interest in the’Criminal Investigation Rules of the Police Agency’ to a higher level official.Is the content.

It was also emphasized that special care should be taken to avoid delays or omission of reporting. It was aimed at preventing deterioration of public opinion due to incorrect investigations ahead of the governmental audit and adjustment of the power of prosecutor and police investigation. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has also made several business contacts and official letters to the subordinate police stations such as Seocho-seo to give directions to the police agency.did.

Not long after, on the night of November 6, last year, Vice Minister Lee Yong-gu, who was a lawyer at the time, assaulted a taxi driver near his home, and Seo Cho-seo ended the investigation without even filing a criminal case.

After a controversy arose, police chief Kim Chang-ryong said, “Seocho-seo handled the case without reporting it to a higher level agency.” Seocho-seo also said, “This vice-minister’s case was not an important case and did not report it to the Seoul Police Agency.” At the end of last month, executive Seo Cho-seo told the JoongAng Ilbo and said, “At the time, I was not included in the important case because I was a lawyer, not a vice minister.I said.

Unlike the explanation in Seocho-seo, Article 23 of the National Police Agency Criminal Investigation Regulations Article 23 (Report on Investigation) Paragraph 2’Annex 1’stipulates that’crimes of judges, prosecutors or lawyers’ are classified as important cases subject to reporting and investigation.. When an important incident occurs, the chief of police should promptly report it to the chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.

For this reason, it is pointed out that the explanation of Seocho-seo is not clear. One side pointed out that it is impossible for the police agency to report or lead an investigation into important incidents and fail to report them, or to be unable to recognize the incident by the superior authorities of Seocho-seo.

Rep. Kim Hyung-dong said, “It is a rumor that the Seoul Police Agency and the National Police Agency were not aware of the situation even though the police gave a special order to report important incidents and direct the investigation immediately before the incident occurred. I don’t understand what I’ve been with.”

There is also an internal testimony that the investigation team at that time had a great burden on closing the case. Multiple Seocho-seo officials told the JoongAng Ilbo, “The investigator in charge is known to have felt a considerable burden in the process of closing the internal investigation by changing the case that was recognized as a violation of the Specific Crime Weighting Act at the police box without a record.I said.

Initially, the police insisted that “there was no problem handling the case according to the guidelines.” However, on the 24th of last month, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said, “There is a fact that police officer A, an investigator in charge of Seocho-seo, saw the video of the assault black box of Vice Minister Yong-gu Lee.” He apologized several times. In this regard, the JoongAng Ilbo attempted a phone call to hear Seochoseo’s position again, but could not reach them.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office 5th Criminal Division (Director Prosecutor Dong-Eon Lee) is investigating the suspicion of the police in relation to the assault of a taxi driver by seizing and searching Seocho-seo on the 27th of last month.

Reporter Minjoong Kim [email protected]