Ex-Seoul police chief faces disciplinary action over alleged misuse of emergency EV to dodge vehicle rotation rule

By Kim A-rin, The Herald Business

The former chief of Seoul's Seongdong Police Station has been referred to a disciplinary committee over allegations that she used an emergency electric vehicle for her daily commute to circumvent a public institution vehicle rotation rule introduced after the outbreak of war in the Middle East.

The Korean National Police Agency announced Wednesday that it would refer the former station chief, identified as Kwon Mi-ye, to the agency's central disciplinary committee following an internal investigation that confirmed the misconduct.

The agency said the investigation found that Kwon had used an emergency electric vehicle designated for rapid-response operations for commuting and other personal purposes on dozens of occasions, with the intent of evading vehicle rotation restrictions imposed on public institutions as part of a pan-government energy conservation drive. It added that investigators also confirmed she had caused operational gaps in the station's first-response team by using a vehicle specifically designated for that unit's emergency deployments.

The agency had placed Kwon on administrative leave and launched an internal probe on May 21.