Gwangju Police Officer Who 'Quietly Left' Drunken Assault Scene Faces One-Month Suspension

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] A senior Gwangju police officer suspected of leaving the scene without taking appropriate action despite a woman at a drinking party being assaulted has received a minor disciplinary action of a one-month salary reduction.

On the afternoon of the 7th, the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency held a disciplinary committee meeting for Inspector A of the Dongbu Police Station on the grounds of "damage to dignity" and issued this disciplinary action.

Disciplinary actions for police officers are classified into dismissal, removal, demotion, suspension, salary reduction, and reprimand.

Inspector A is suspected of leaving the scene after attending a drinking party at a pub in Dong-gu on October 12, where a wealthy individual accompanying him assaulted a woman in her 40s from the group.

At the drinking party, five people attended, including a wealthy construction businessman, a businessman who was a former special aide to a member of the National Assembly, Inspector A, and the female victim.

Inspector A reportedly acknowledges the moral responsibility but feels unfair as he is not the perpetrator.

If dissatisfied with the disciplinary committee's decision, there is a path to appeal to the Personnel Innovation Department's Appeal Review Committee within a month for relief.

Repeated calls were made to confirm his position regarding this matter, but Inspector A did not answer.

In a past phone interview with this paper, Inspector A expressed his unfair position, saying, "Since I was not acquainted with the female victim, I could not recklessly touch her body, and I pushed the (assailant) outside, and even there, I restrained him from coming back inside to the point that my neck and shoulders were bruised."