Documents Destroyed During Investigation... Court Rules "State Must Compensate"

Gwangju District Court Orders Compensation for Police Loss of Evidence
One Million Won in Damages... Police Considering Disciplinary Action

The court has recognized the state’s liability after police lost documents submitted by the complainant during an investigation.

On April 28, the Gwangju District Court Civil Division 4 (Presiding Judge Park Sanghyun) ruled in an appellate case that the state must pay 1 million won in compensation to each of the two plaintiffs, including an individual identified as A, who sued the Republic of Korea for damages. This amount is higher than the 300,000 won awarded in the first trial, with the appellate court increasing the compensation by an additional 700,000 won.

In December 2022, A and others submitted a complaint and related evidence documents to the Gwangju Dongbu Police Station. However, during the investigation, the police accidentally destroyed and lost some of these documents. The case was ultimately closed with a finding of "no charges."

A and the other plaintiffs claimed that the loss of evidence by the police affected the outcome of the investigation and sought damages.

The appellate court stated, "It is extremely unusual for an investigative agency to lose materials submitted by a victim due to carelessness," and ruled that "the state must pay 1 million won in compensation to each plaintiff." However, the court added, "It is difficult to conclude that the loss of documents directly led to the decision of no charges." The court also took into account that the police informed the plaintiffs of the loss and provided an opportunity to resubmit the materials.

Regarding this ruling, the police announced that, once the lawsuit is finalized, they will consider disciplinary action against the officer responsible for losing the documents.