Served as Deputy Head of Dedicated Investigation Team During January Assault Incident
"Only Used Information from Media Briefings," Clarifies
Baek Hyun-jin, a member of the People Power Party, has filed a complaint against a police officer who was in charge of her assault case, accusing him of official secret leakage. The officer reportedly posted details of the case multiple times on his personal blog.
On the 2nd, TV Chosun reported that Representative Bae filed a complaint with the police against Superintendent A for official secret leakage. Superintendent A was the deputy head of the dedicated investigation team and head of the criminal division at the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul when Representative Bae was assaulted with a blunt weapon by a middle school student in a building in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, last January.
However, Superintendent A posted articles related to the case on a blog frequented by amateur writers. He posted the first article five days after taking charge of the case and serialized it four times over more than a month. The posts included his impressions of the case, such as "I thought this case would mark a milestone in my investigative career, so I gladly accepted it," as well as details of the investigation, including the size of the investigation team, witness statements, and data analysis. Most of these posts have since been deleted.
In a phone interview with TV Chosun, Superintendent A stated, "I recall that I only wrote about information that had already been released in media briefings," and added, "There was no profit generated from the posts." However, on the 3rd, Representative Bae’s side told Newsis that the serialization "was a form in which the investigator unofficially posted conclusions of an ongoing investigation on his personal blog." They further stated, "The posts appeared to be aimed at increasing views or visitors by mentioning Representative Bae’s real name and using provocative titles," and added, "Representative Bae was very upset."
Representative Bae’s side said they requested appropriate measures against Superintendent A from the police, but since no action was taken, they had no choice but to file a complaint. They told Newsis, "(Superintendent A’s actions) constitute official secret leakage and secondary harm," and "We judge this to be a problematic act, such as making very definitive conclusions about an unresolved case in the prosecution or court. Since the police did not take appropriate measures, we had no choice but to file a complaint." They also stated that they have not received any apology or separate contact from Superintendent A regarding this matter. Representative Bae’s side submitted the complaint on the 28th of last month, and the schedule for the complainant’s investigation has not yet been set. A Gangnam Police Station official said, "We are reviewing the contents of the complaint," and "We plan to conduct the complainant’s investigation soon."
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