Inspector A referred to disciplinary panel over sexual misconduct allegations

Gangnam Police Station has been under special personnel management since the Burning Sun scandal

A string of internal misconduct cases — from cover-up allegations to a detective chief's move to a law firm — continues to tarnish the station

Inspector A of the Gangnam Police Station, who faces sexual misconduct allegations, is set to be referred to a disciplinary committee. The station has been designated a special personnel management zone due to a series of employee misconduct and investigation cover-up incidents. [Generated with AI]
Inspector A of the Gangnam Police Station, who faces sexual misconduct allegations, is set to be referred to a disciplinary committee. The station has been designated a special personnel management zone due to a series of employee misconduct and investigation cover-up incidents. [Generated with AI]

A Gangnam Police Station inspector facing sexual misconduct allegations is set to be referred to a disciplinary committee, as the station continues to grapple with a string of internal scandals — from alleged cover-ups in the investigation of broadcaster Yang Jeong-won to a detective division chief's move to a law firm handling a case he had overseen.

The Korean National Police Agency's human rights investigation unit recently decided to refer Inspector A to a disciplinary committee. The unit is responsible for auditing sexual misconduct cases involving police officers.

The agency confirmed the sexual misconduct allegations against Inspector A on July 9 and placed him on administrative leave. Police said at the time they were treating the matter as a personal misconduct issue, and have since spent roughly two months conducting a factual investigation.

The Gangnam Police Station in Seoul [Newsis]
The Gangnam Police Station in Seoul [Newsis]

Misconduct at the Gangnam Police Station has been a recurring problem. In 2019, the station was embroiled in allegations of collusion with nightclub operators in the Gangnam area following the Burning Sun scandal.

Investigations revealed that officers assigned to the station had received bribes to cover up cases involving minors at Gangnam clubs and had leaked information related to food sanitation law probes. The station chief was replaced, and 152 of the station's 852 officers were transferred out.

The Korean National Police Agency responded by announcing a comprehensive plan to root out collusion-related misconduct and designated the Gangnam station as the first "special personnel management zone." Officers with a prior disciplinary record are barred from serving there, and any officer who receives a disciplinary sanction while assigned to the station must be immediately transferred.

The special personnel management designation had been set to expire in 2024, but was extended through the second half of next year after misconduct continued.

The station's reputation has yet to recover. This year, allegations emerged that Song, a police lieutenant who led the investigation team handling charges against broadcaster Yang Jeong-won for violations of the Franchise Business Act, accepted entertainment from Yang's husband and buried the case. Song is currently standing trial in detention.

Broadcaster Park Na-rae, who faces allegations of gapjil against former managers and illegal medical procedures, leaves the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul after appearing for questioning in February. [Yonhap]
Broadcaster Park Na-rae, who faces allegations of gapjil against former managers and illegal medical procedures, leaves the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul after appearing for questioning in February. [Yonhap]

In February, the detective division chief who had overseen the investigation into broadcaster Park Na-rae on charges including aggravated assault resigned and took a job at a large law firm representing Park. The former chief said he was assigned to unrelated work at the firm, but the move drew criticism over a potential conflict of interest.

In response, all five detective and investigation division chiefs at the Gangnam Police Station were replaced in May, along with six others including precinct commanders and patrol team leaders.

A frontline police investigator said the station has a poor reputation among investigators. "There are a lot of headaches there, and you still hear stories about people trying to pull strings through back channels," the investigator said.

Data from a Korean National Police Agency report on optimizing police staffing, compiled in August, showed that investigators in the Gangnam station's integrated investigation team handled an average of 244 cases each last year — placing it among the busiest stations in Seoul, alongside Gangdong Police Station (267 cases) and Yongsan Police Station (246.3 cases).

Im Jun-tae, a professor of police administration at Dongguk University, said the nature of cases at the Gangnam station is inherently different from those at smaller stations given the area's unique characteristics, with a higher volume of large-scale cases. "Ultimately, there needs to be internal self-correction, including stronger internal controls," he said.


20ki@heraldcorp.com