"Lack of Education, Practical Training, and Talent Development in Domestic Violence Cases"
Regarding the case in which a man in his 30s, who had been separated from his former girlfriend after committing violence against her, later abducted and murdered the victim before taking his own life, attorney Ahn Junyoung stated, "The victim reported the perpetrator's violence to the police multiple times, but the police only recognized this as a domestic violence case and took emergency protective measures after the third report." He added, "There is significant criticism that the initial response was problematic."
Eunmi Kang, Chief of Hwaseong Dongtan Police Station in Gyeonggi Province, bowed her head to the victims and their families while expressing an official apology regarding the so-called 'Dongtan Abduction and Murder' case on the afternoon of the 28th at the 2nd conference room of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Yonhap News
On May 30, during an appearance on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jongbae's Focus,' Ahn said, "When I handle stalking crime cases, I often have to apply for emergency separation measures for victims at the family court, but it takes more than a month just to get a court date. We cannot know what might happen during that time," he explained. He continued, "Even though I am a lawyer, when I counsel on stalking or intimate partner crime cases, the reality is that the response is so slow that I have to advise clients to 'move as soon as possible' or 'change your phone number and move,' which shows how inadequate the system is."
Currently, the police have pledged to conduct a comprehensive review of similar cases and to re-examine protective measures for victims in order to prevent recurrence. In response, Ahn pointed out, "Every time such an incident occurs, the same explanations are repeated. While they may review documents, if it only amounts to an internal audit, without fundamental solutions, it will be difficult to prevent the tragedy of similar cases happening again."
He also emphasized that the issue of police manpower must be addressed first. Ahn stated, "With the adjustment of investigative authority between the prosecution and the police, the police are now handling more investigations than before, but the number of investigative personnel has not increased." He added, "At a recent meeting held by the bar association, I heard that police are even calling in complainants to return their complaints, which shows how severe the manpower shortage is."
He further noted, "When a report is filed with the police, they may provide an emergency call device or increase patrols, but incidents like this continue to happen. Due to the lack of police personnel, there is a practical shortage of education, field training, and personnel development for handling domestic violence and intimate partner violence cases."
Meanwhile, the police are facing heavy criticism for their inadequate investigation in this case. The victim, identified as A, had repeatedly reported the violence of the perpetrator, identified as B, with whom she was in a de facto marital relationship. She also submitted audio recordings and hundreds of pages of documents detailing her experiences, and requested that the perpetrator be investigated and detained. However, the police failed to even prepare the necessary documents to apply for a detention warrant for over a month, and were ultimately unable to prevent the victim's death.
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