Left Unlocked and Unattended... Violation of Storage Guidelines
Theft Went Unnoticed... Confirmed Only Later Through CCTV
A controversy over poor management has arisen after motorcycles confiscated and stored by the police in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, were stolen in succession from both a police station and a police substation. Criticism has intensified as the police not only failed to follow storage guidelines for confiscated items but also realized the thefts belatedly.
According to the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency and the Changwon Seobu Police Station, the police recently booked a high school student, identified as A, on charges of theft and driving without a license. On September 18 in Jinhae-gu, Changwon, A fled on a confiscated motorcycle, ignoring police orders to stop, but fell after hitting a speed bump and is currently being treated for symptoms of cerebral hemorrhage.
The motorcycle in question had been confiscated after A was caught stealing and riding it from the underground parking lot of an apartment complex in Haman on August 30. At the time, the police, citing a lack of space in the evidence storage room, kept the motorcycle outside the police station building without any locking device.
A few days later, while visiting the police station for questioning, A remembered the storage location, and in the early morning of September 3, he crossed the main gate and fence of the police station, stole the motorcycle, and fled. The officer on duty was inside the building and was completely unaware of the situation outside. Although the crime took place in the middle of the police station, no one noticed it.
The problem did not end there. The same motorcycle, which A rode again, was seized on September 13 on a road in Buk-myeon, Uichang-gu, and was temporarily stored in the yard of the Buk-myeon police substation. However, it was also left unattended without any special measures, and on the night of September 16, a man started the engine and drove away, resulting in another theft. The same poor management was repeated, first at the police station and then at the substation.
Theft Realized Too Late... Violation of Evidence Storage Guidelines
The controversy was further fueled when the police realized the theft only after a significant delay. The officer who had initially confiscated the motorcycle only discovered it was missing on September 17 while preparing to transfer the case. Subsequent review of CCTV footage confirmed that A had stolen the motorcycle.
Police guidelines require that confiscated items be stored with a locking device, but neither the police station nor the substation followed this rule. Furthermore, it was revealed that both agencies failed to comply with orders from the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency to maintain a daily inspection log of confiscated items.
Kim Sunseop, Chief of the Changwon Seobu Police Station, admitted during a briefing at the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency, "We acknowledge our poor management of confiscated items," adding, "We will establish measures for better management and strengthen oversight." The Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency is currently conducting an internal audit regarding this incident.
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