Police Officer Suspended for 'Eastar Jet Inadequate Investigation'... Court Orders Disciplinary Action Cancellation

The court ruled that the disciplinary action against a police officer who received a salary reduction for a negligent investigation into recruitment corruption at Eastar Jet was unlawful.

Seoul Administrative Court.

According to the legal community on the 19th, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 12 (Chief Judge Kang Jae-won) ruled in favor of police officer Yoo in a lawsuit he filed against the Chief of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to cancel the salary reduction.

Yoo, who was affiliated with the Gangseo Police Station in Seoul, was appointed as the head of the investigation team for the Eastar Jet recruitment corruption case in May 2021 and assigned the investigation to Inspector A. In October 2021, Inspector A prepared an investigation report recommending a non-prosecution decision due to insufficient evidence. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency directed the continuation of the investigation through search warrant applications and data collection.

After conducting supplementary investigations, Inspector A prepared another investigation report stating, "There is no evidence to acknowledge the suspects' guilt except for unclear media reports, so a non-prosecution decision is intended," and Yoo drafted the report. Subsequently, the Gangseo Police Station made a non-prosecution decision regarding the suspects in this case. The prosecution, having taken over the case, requested a reinvestigation to secure evidence, but Inspector A maintained the non-prosecution decision even after the reinvestigation.

After suspicions of a negligent investigation were raised by the National Assembly and the media, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency launched an internal investigation and imposed a three-month salary reduction on Yoo for inadequate investigation supervision and a two-month salary reduction on Inspector A for insufficient investigation. Yoo filed an appeal to cancel the disciplinary action, but after it was dismissed, he filed an administrative lawsuit.

The court ruled in favor of Inspector A, stating it was difficult to conclude that he negligently supervised the investigation. The court considered that Inspector A faced difficulties in securing materials due to the uncooperative behavior of the reporter who covered the case, planned the investigation to secure testimonial evidence from related parties, and largely complied with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s investigation directives and the prosecution’s reinvestigation requests, making it hard to conclude that the investigation was negligent.

The court also noted that at the time of the investigation, there was insufficient material to apply for a search warrant, and the police’s intelligence capabilities regarding Eastar Jet were limited compared to the prosecution. The court stated, "The lack of progress in the recruitment corruption investigation cannot be solely blamed on Inspector A," and "It is also difficult to see that Yoo, as a superior officer, neglected his supervisory duties regarding the investigation of this case."