By Jaeyeon Woo
South Korean National Police Agency Chief Cho Hyun-oh resigned Monday amid a growing fury over the slow response of police in suburban Seoul to a woman’s distress call. There is now a debate about whether the apparent ineptitude contributed to the woman’s death at the hands of a murderer.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Cho Hyun-oh offers to resign on Monday.
“I offer a sincere apology and feel deeply regrettable that police’s carelessness brought about this horrendous result and that we played down and lied about the case,” Mr. Cho said.
On Sunday, April 1, a 27-year-old woman was walking home after a weekend shift at a small electronics manufacturer in Suwon when she was kidnapped by a 41-year-old man.
When the suspect went to bathroom, she locked the door up and called 112 – the emergency response number that is South Korea’s equivalent of 911 – and said she had been abducted and was being raped.
During the 80-second conversation that followed, the operator wasted precious time by repeating questions and turning to other operators as if the caller was in a domestic fight. The woman described her location as a house between a public playground and a school in a Suwon neighborhood, but the dispatcher asked for more precise address. (Unlike in the U.S. and other countries, the address of a phone call does not automatically appear on the computer of a police dispatcher.)
The conversation abruptly ended when the suspect broke into the door, but the phone line remained open for six more minutes. During that time, the woman could be heard crying in panic and begging for mercy. As well, the sound of tape being torn was heard.
The dispatcher sent police but the exact details of their response haven’t been disclosed. Police did not get to the home until the next morning, 13 hours after the call, when they found the suspect dismembering the body of the woman. The man, Wu Yuan-chun, was then arrested.
In the initial media coverage of the crime, police said the woman was only on the phone for 15 seconds.
The victim’s sister later said that, while she accompanied police in the search, they just carelessly patrolled around the area and some even drowsed.
As truth about the crime and police response became known late last week, public trust in the police plunged. Mr. Cho’s resignation doesn’t seem enough to soothe the anger.
Mr. Cho said he was aware the apparent attempt to mislead people about the mistakes worsened the situation.
“There were serious problems of the 112 operator’s incompetence, leading to misjudgment of the seriousness of the case, inept response, careless search, playing down the case and false explanation,” he said.
South Korean National Police Agency Chief Cho Hyun-oh resigned Monday amid a growing fury over the slow response of police in suburban Seoul to a woman’s distress call. There is now a debate about whether the apparent ineptitude contributed to the woman’s death at the hands of a murderer.
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Cho Hyun-oh offers to resign on Monday.
“I offer a sincere apology and feel deeply regrettable that police’s carelessness brought about this horrendous result and that we played down and lied about the case,” Mr. Cho said.
On Sunday, April 1, a 27-year-old woman was walking home after a weekend shift at a small electronics manufacturer in Suwon when she was kidnapped by a 41-year-old man.
When the suspect went to bathroom, she locked the door up and called 112 – the emergency response number that is South Korea’s equivalent of 911 – and said she had been abducted and was being raped.
During the 80-second conversation that followed, the operator wasted precious time by repeating questions and turning to other operators as if the caller was in a domestic fight. The woman described her location as a house between a public playground and a school in a Suwon neighborhood, but the dispatcher asked for more precise address. (Unlike in the U.S. and other countries, the address of a phone call does not automatically appear on the computer of a police dispatcher.)
The conversation abruptly ended when the suspect broke into the door, but the phone line remained open for six more minutes. During that time, the woman could be heard crying in panic and begging for mercy. As well, the sound of tape being torn was heard.
The dispatcher sent police but the exact details of their response haven’t been disclosed. Police did not get to the home until the next morning, 13 hours after the call, when they found the suspect dismembering the body of the woman. The man, Wu Yuan-chun, was then arrested.
In the initial media coverage of the crime, police said the woman was only on the phone for 15 seconds.
The victim’s sister later said that, while she accompanied police in the search, they just carelessly patrolled around the area and some even drowsed.
As truth about the crime and police response became known late last week, public trust in the police plunged. Mr. Cho’s resignation doesn’t seem enough to soothe the anger.
Mr. Cho said he was aware the apparent attempt to mislead people about the mistakes worsened the situation.
“There were serious problems of the 112 operator’s incompetence, leading to misjudgment of the seriousness of the case, inept response, careless search, playing down the case and false explanation,” he said.
:*: (pressed 4 since he just got robbed.)
