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The Korean National Police Agency continued to promote a senior officer as an "exemplary police officer" on its official blog even as he stood trial on charges of repeatedly sexually assaulting four female subordinates. The officer had also received a national decoration for solving major crimes.
According to an MBC report Wednesday, the officer — an inspector in his 50s attached to a police station in Cheonan — has been indicted and is on trial for sexually assaulting four female officers.
A police investigation found that from December 2024 through May last year, the officer made unwanted physical contact with junior female colleagues at restaurants and bars. He faces charges of forcible indecent assault and abuse of workplace authority to commit indecent acts.
The victims filed a complaint in May last year.
The officer had worked for more than 20 years in investigative units, including the criminal investigations and women and juveniles divisions. He was dismissed following an internal disciplinary review late last year.
It was also confirmed that he had previously received a national decoration for resolving various serious crimes.
What drew further criticism was that the Korean National Police Agency had continued to feature the officer on its official blog as a recipient of the "Outstanding Civil Servant Award" — even after he was indicted on sex crime charges.
On this, the Korean National Police Agency said it "was not immediately aware of the inspector's sexual misconduct or dismissal because the disciplinary outcome had not been publicly announced."
The agency added that the blog post featuring the officer "has since been set to private," and went on to say it "will work to prevent a recurrence through enhanced monitoring of promotional posts and closer cooperation with relevant departments."
yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com
