Drank and Vomited During APEC Dispatch ... Included the Officer Involved in Two Confiscated Property Thefts

It has been confirmed that one of the police officers who drank alcohol at a lodging where food and beverages were prohibited the day before their assignment to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit is under internal investigation for a "confiscated property theft case."

Previously, five police officers, including Officer A in his 30s from the Changwon Seobu Police Station in South Gyeongsang Province, headed to Gyeongju on October 27 for their dispatched duty at the APEC summit.

Scheduled to be assigned to security and guard duties starting on the 28th, they found that no meals were provided at their assigned lodging, so after dining at a nearby restaurant, they purchased soju and returned to their accommodation.

That evening, they shared four bottles of soju over more than an hour, and one of them even vomited inside the lodging.

The accommodation, a corporate training center, strictly prohibited bringing in any food or alcoholic beverages.

The next day, they left for their support duty without cleaning up the vomit. While tidying up the lodging, a staff member discovered traces of vomit and reported it to the North Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency, which brought the incident to light.

Upon confirming the facts, the South Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency ordered all five officers to return to their original station and sent replacement personnel for the assignment.

Yonhap News Agency

At the time, an official from the Seobu Police Station told this newspaper in a phone call, "We were originally supposed to stay at accommodations in Pohang, but we were suddenly instructed to move to Gyeongju. We were not informed that food and alcohol were prohibited at the assigned lodging," adding, "If we had been notified in advance like officers from other stations, we would not have acted that way."

The official also said, "Before departure, the audit officer instructed everyone to refrain from excessive drinking, and to prevent any unfortunate incidents such as drunk driving, we traveled together by tour bus instead of using personal vehicles," reiterating, "If we had been notified in advance like officers from other stations, we would not have acted that way."

Changwon Seobu Police Station, to which these officers belong, was previously criticized for lax discipline after it was revealed that on September 3, they left a confiscated motorcycle-seized from a teenage high school student B suspected of theft-outside without a lock due to lack of storage space. The motorcycle was stolen twice by B, and the station remained unaware for more than two weeks.

According to police and other sources on the 5th, Officer A, who was ordered to return to his station due to the drinking incident, was the officer in charge of managing confiscated items at the Changwon Seobu Police Station's investigative division, where poor management had been discovered.

At the time of the dispatch, Officer A was already under internal investigation regarding the confiscated property case along with five other officers. However, Changwon Seobu Police Station reportedly determined that Officer A was not under disciplinary action or any other restriction, and thus sent him to Gyeongju as planned.

The South Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency is currently conducting internal investigations both into the poor management of confiscated property and the drinking incident related to the APEC summit assignment.

The agency considers it inappropriate that the officers drank alcohol during their break time, given that they were assigned to support a major national event.

The police plan to conclude the internal investigation within this month and will recommend disciplinary action, including possible sanctions against Officer A and others.