Incheon police inspector sentenced for demanding bribes

An Incheon police inspector has been sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for one year, and fined 1 million won for demanding bribes. The court ruled that the officer's actions undermined public trust in the fairness of police investigations.

The inspector, a man in his 60s, was found to have requested 300,000 won in “party expenses” and a bottle of liquor from a suspect involved in a drunk driving accident last year. After encouraging the suspect to reach a settlement with the victims, the officer downgraded the charges to simple drunk driving, omitting charges related to injury caused by a traffic accident.

While the defendant argued there was no direct quid pro quo, the Incheon District Court determined that requesting money in connection with a criminal investigation constituted a serious breach of duty.