A serving police officer is under investigation on charges of destroying evidence linked to his high school-aged son, who is suspected of illegally filming a teacher.
The North Jeolla Province Police Agency said Monday it is investigating Inspector A, attached to a local police substation, on charges of evidence destruction under the Criminal Act.
Inspector A is suspected of smashing and discarding his son's mobile phone — and concealing other evidence — after learning in May that his son had secretly filmed a teacher.
Police forwarded the son's case to prosecutors last month following a report from the victim teacher. Investigators subsequently detected signs that Inspector A and his spouse had destroyed evidence, and launched a compulsory investigation that included a search and seizure of the couple's home.
The case came to light after the Korean National Police Agency conducted a sweeping review of cases involving police family members, prompted by allegations of shoddy investigation and cover-up surrounding the Jang Yun-gi case — in which a Gwangju high school girl was murdered by a suspect whose father was a senior police officer.
Under South Korean law, family members who conceal a suspect or destroy evidence may be exempt from punishment under a relatives' exception clause. Police are examining, however, whether Inspector A faces charges — such as incitement to destroy evidence — that fall outside the scope of that exemption.
Meanwhile, Inspector A posted a message on the police internal network arguing that the investigation against him was unjust, drawing criticism from colleagues who called the post inappropriate.
betterj@heraldcorp.com
