A North Korean police officer has been stripped of his duties after it was determined that he stole money that a defector living in South Korea had sent to their family in North Korea, sources reported on October 30.
The family in question submitted a petition and the police officer was punished accordingly. The case may have far-reaching implications for corruption in the country.
“A petition was submitted for the crime and the provincial Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) office conducted an investigation,” said a Ryanggang Province-based source. “The corrupt police officer was forced from his position in mid-October and now works as a laborer.”
According to the source, the family in Hyesan received a 10,000 yuan (approx 1.6 million South Korean won) money order from a relative living in South Korea in late August through a broker. The family planned to use the money to support their business activities, which keep them afloat.
However, the broker who brought the money into North Korea was arrested by the authorities and admitted to giving the family the money order from South Korea. The local police officer in charge of the investigation called in the family to question them about the exchange of money and promptly seized the funds.
The family asked the police officer to return at least some of the money, but he allegedly replied that the funds had been “seized by the state” and refused to return the money.
Finding no way to persuade the officer to return at least some of the money, the family ultimately submitted a petition to the local WPK office. They did this despite the fact they could get in trouble once it was known that they had a relative in South Korea and that they had received money from them.
The provincial WPK office’s petition department conducted an investigation into the incident for close to two months before ultimately determining that the police officer had not given the money to the state but had instead kept it for himself. He was then removed from his position. The family ultimately failed to receive any of the money back, but reportedly did not come under any further scrutiny.
This is the first time that news of a local police officer being punished for having embezzled money sent from South Korea has been reported outside of North Korea, a separate source in Ryanggang Province reported.
He explained that unlike cases where officials turn a blind eye to money orders sent from South Korea in exchange for bribes, this recent case suggests that the authorities will take serious measures toward those officials who forcibly take money from residents.
“The money, of course, came from someone living in South Korea, but this recent case serves as a warning that the authorities do not approve of such behavior by officials,” he said.
Both sources noted that the family in question and other people who have suffered at the hands of law enforcement officials in the country are happy with the results of the investigation.
