In relation to the case where a man in his 60s killed his son with a homemade firearm in Songdo, Incheon, there has been controversy over the police's inadequate initial response, leading to personnel changes among the police officials.
The Korean National Police Agency announced on the 6th, "We have taken personnel actions against the head of the Yeonsu Police Station in Incheon and the situation management officer on duty that day who had command responsibility."
Head of Yeonsu Police Station Park Sang-jin and the situation management officer on duty that day have been reassigned to the Planning Division of the Incheon Provincial Police Agency. The new head will be Chief Baek Seok-hwan, who is the head of the 112 Emergency Center at the Incheon Provincial Police Agency.
The police responded to the report around 9:31 p.m. on the 20th of last month to an apartment in Songdo where the incident occurred. However, the responding officers were unable to enter the scene as they did not have firearms or bulletproof vests. The police special forces arrived at the scene around 10:16 p.m. and entered the premises around 10:43 p.m., but A had already escaped an hour earlier. The police ultimately confirmed the location of the suspect A (62) only after about 70 minutes from the time of the report.
The victim, who had collapsed after being shot by A, was transported to the hospital but died. The situation management officer at the Yeonsu Police Station, who was supposed to command the frontline officers at the scene according to the manual, was not present.
In relation to this, the inspection office of the Korean National Police Agency began an investigation on the 26th of last month. The police agency explained that the investigation is still ongoing and this action is a personnel measure and not a disciplinary action.