Police action blamed in girl’s murder

A day after police found the naked body of a 12-year-old school girl kidnapped from her home in Daegu on May 30, people are questioning police actions.

Initially, only 80 police officers and volunteers searched for Hur Eun-jeong in a one-kilometer (0.62-mile) radius of her home. When they broadened the search area and enlisted more policemen Wednesday they made the gruesome discovery. Eun-jeong was found in a remote area 2.3 kilometers from her home. In the end, 510 team members along with two rescue dogs were used, according to police.

“We could not call out more policemen because they were dispatched to the candlelight demonstration sites in Seoul and Daegu,” said Ahn Jae-gyeong, an officer on the case.

Police originally said that Eun-jeong was probably a runaway after they got a report from one of her friends saying that Hur escaped from her abductors on June 1 and was safe. The friend’s information turned out to be false.

In addition, it took seven days for police to ask the public for help and to offer a 5 million won ($4,794) reward for information leading to her discovery. Police are now investigating 60 sex offenders who live near Eun-jeong’s home.

Kyungpook National University Hospital failed to find the cause of death in an autopsy yesterday. “Her body was badly decomposed,” Ahn said. “Also, we could not confirm whether someone raped her or not.”

Eun-jeong was kidnapped by two men in their 20s after they broke into her house and beat her 72-year-old grandfather in the early morning of May 30. At that time, the victim tried to stop the men from attacking her grandfather.

By Park Sang-woo Staff Reporter [spark@joongang.co.kr]