An image for illustrative purposes [123RF]
An image for illustrative purposes [123RF]

Police have decided not to refer a fellow officer to prosecutors after he destroyed his son's phone to conceal evidence of an attempted illegal filming.

The North Jeolla Province Police Agency said Thursday that it had closed the case against Inspector A without referral to prosecutors. "Under the family exemption provision, Inspector A cannot be punished for evidence destruction," the agency said, adding that investigators had conducted a broad probe into whether he had also attempted to incite others to destroy evidence but found no such indication.

Inspector A is accused of smashing and discarding his son's mobile phone after learning in May that his son, identified only as B, had attempted to secretly photograph part of his homeroom teacher's body.

At the time, investigators at the Jeonju Wansan Police Station referred B to prosecutors on charges of attempted illegal filming under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes — without first locating the missing phone, relying instead on the victim teacher's testimony and other evidence.

The allegations against Inspector A surfaced after the Korean National Police Agency ordered a comprehensive review of cases involving police family members, prompted by the so-called Jang Yun-gi case. The North Jeolla Province Police Agency's women and juvenile crimes investigation unit then launched a separate probe into the evidence destruction allegations.

Under the family exemption provision, simple evidence destruction between relatives cannot be punished. However, inciting another person to destroy evidence can be prosecuted depending on the circumstances.

Police reviewed Inspector A's phone, internal messaging records and the call logs of the original investigation team but found no indication that a colleague had helped him destroy evidence or that he had advised family members or others to do so.

However, police said they consider Inspector A's conduct unbecoming of an officer and plan to pursue disciplinary action.

"We conducted this investigation so that not a shadow of doubt would remain," a police official said. "The act of discarding his son's phone was highly inappropriate for a police officer and is subject to significant criticism. We plan to impose strict disciplinary measures accordingly."


husn7@heraldcorp.com