[MZ Police Officer] "Victims Should Report Without Hesitation"

Kang Hyeongjun, Seongdong Police Station Women and Youth Violent Crime Investigation Team Officer
Victims of relational crimes suffer severe psychological pain

Editor's NoteThe Generation Z is coming. It is an era where new employees in their 20s and 30s determine the future of organizational culture. The police are no exception. The police consist of various departments such as criminal investigation, investigation, security, intelligence, traffic, administration, public relations, audit, and women & youth. The working environments differ across city and provincial police offices, police stations, riot police units, and local police substations, and the tasks vary greatly by region. From the perspective of the youngest police officers, we introduce their departments and share vivid stories about their thoughts on work and life.

On the morning of the 13th at 11 a.m., at the Women and Youth Violent Crime Investigation Team of Seongdong Police Station in Seoul, Police Officer Kang Hyeong-jun (28) meticulously reviewed park CCTV footage to secure evidence of a youth assault incident that occurred overnight. This was to accurately understand the circumstances of the case and identify the perpetrator and the victim. Officer Kang said, “By analyzing CCTV, we can confirm whether it was a simple youth quarrel or school violence, so I patiently review the footage from start to finish.”

Police Officer Kang Hyeong-jun (28) of the Women and Youth Violent Crime Investigation Team at Seongdong Police Station in Seoul is conducting an inquiry investigation using park CCTV in Seongdong-gu on the 13th. Photo by Byeon Seon-jin

Officer Kang, appointed as a police officer in June 2023, worked at Hanyang Police Substation before being assigned to the Women and Youth Violent Crime Investigation Team at Seongdong Police Station in February last year. He said, “While working as a police substation officer, I encountered many cases related to women and youth, and I applied because I wanted to conduct in-depth investigations.”

The Women and Youth Violent Crime Investigation Team investigates child abuse, domestic violence, sexual violence, and stalking crimes. The team was newly established following the ‘Jung-in case’ in 2020, where a stepfather and stepmother repeatedly abused a child to death. At Seongdong Police Station, the team is a small unit of four members including the team leader and chief, but from March to December last year, they resolved 187 violent crime cases.

Officer Kang’s investigative strength lies in his empathy. He said, “Most cases involving women and youth are relational crimes (crimes occurring between close individuals), so the victim’s mental suffering is inevitably severe. Through my strength in empathy, I was able to elicit crucial testimonies from victims in various cases.”

Officer Kang hopes victims will not hesitate to formally seek help from investigative agencies. Relational crimes have a high risk of recurrence and tend to repeat and escalate into violent crimes if no measures are taken.

Police Officer Kang Hyung-jun (28) of the Women and Youth Violent Crime Investigation Team at Seongdong Police Station in Seoul is providing guidance to a complainant on the 13th. Photo by Byeon Seon-jin

Officer Kang said the case of a habitual domestic violence victim was the most memorable. At that time, he conducted on-site investigations, took protective measures for the child victim, and later confirmed that the abusive parents did not commit further violence. He felt great fulfillment as a police officer of the Women and Youth Violent Crime Investigation Team.

He explained, “In cases of domestic violence, once a report is made, the perpetrator such as a parent recognizes ‘I have done something seriously wrong.’ If there is a possibility of improvement, the case can be handled as a family protection case rather than punishing the perpetrator.” He added, “Only then can the victim regain a peaceful daily life. This is why it is important not to hesitate to report when harm occurs.”

Women and youth violent crimes often occur on weekends and at night, resulting in frequent overtime work. To have a restraining order requested by the victim accepted, the police must submit related documents to the prosecution within 36 hours of the incident, and the prosecution must file the request with the court within 48 hours. Officer Kang said, “Considering that it takes longer for the documents to reach the prosecution, we have to prepare the paperwork in advance, so overtime work is inevitable. At first, the irregular working hours were challenging, but I work hard thinking that I can help victims escape threats.”

Police Officer Kang Hyeong-jun (28) of the Women and Youth Violent Crime Investigation Team at Seongdong Police Station in Seoul poses in front of Seongdong Police Station on the 13th. Photo by Byeon Seon-jin

Officer Kang revealed that as Seongsu-dong in Seoul has emerged as a ‘hot place’ for the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z), reports of sexual crimes have increased. In December last year, he conducted a persistent investigation into a sexual crime case involving a foreign woman who came to Korea interested in K-culture and sent the case to the prosecution in January. Officer Kang said, “The foreign woman had left the country, and the suspect firmly denied the crime, making it difficult to prove the charges, but by tracking the suspect’s movements, we were able to capture decisive evidence of the crime.”

In fact, Officer Kang worked as a bank clerk before making policing his second career. Around his third year at the bank counter, he felt a vague desire to fulfill his childhood dream of ‘catching bad people and making the world brighter.’ He said, “The sense of accomplishment from helping someone greatly increases my job satisfaction.”

Based on his banking experience, Officer Kang expressed his ambition to investigate economic crimes such as fraud, embezzlement, and breach of trust in the Economic Crime Investigation Team in the future. He said, “At the bank, I mainly handled products like real estate loans, funds, and derivative funds. Having financial knowledge will be a great help in investigating serious economic crimes.” Officer Kang is also attending night college majoring in information engineering, gaining background knowledge in various technical fields such as computer programming.

Officer Kang said, “I want to become a police officer whom everyone can trust,” and added, “I want to develop my investigative skills so that not only victims but also my police team can trust me enough to entrust cases to me.”