Precincts covered up high school sex acts

The bosses of two police officers who had sex with high school students in Busan knew about it and tried to cover it up.

The scandal erupted Friday when a former police chief of a police precinct exposed the two officers on Facebook for having sex with high school girls they were supposed to protect from bullying and violence — and then resigning without any consequences.

Busan police announced Monday that they confirmed the charges by speaking with the two former police officers.

An internal investigations by Busan police has revealed that the Saha and Yeonje police precincts, where the two officers worked, lied to Busan police when questioned about the incident.

School-assigned police officers, called SPOs, were installed in 2012 after a student in Daegu who was bullied committed suicide.

A 33-year-old corporal dispatched to a local school in Busan from the Saha Police Precinct had sex with a high school girl in early June.

A health teacher, after speaking with the student, reported this to a female police officer dispatched to the school, and the officer reported it to her superior at the Saha Police Precinct.

By the time the 33-year-old corporal was quietly dismissed on June 15, with no effect on his pension, his supervisor knew what had happened. He did not report it to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency.

When questioned by Busan police after the incident was uncovered last week, the Saha police authorities denied having known it all along.

The Yeonje Police Precinct, where another corporal worked, was found to have also lied.

A 31-year-old corporal from that precinct had sex with a high school girl. On May 9, a youth protection agency that spoke with the student asked the Yeonje police about the incident. The next day the corporal tendered his resignation and in a week was dismissed without any punitive measures.

After the incidents went viral Friday, the Yeonje police initially told the Busan police that they only heard from the youth protection agency after the corporal’s dismissal.

Police chiefs of Saha and Yeonje police precincts have been discharged from their positions.

Whether the officers forced the students into having sex is being investigated. It is legal for a person aged 14 or older to have consensual sex with an adult.

BY KANG SEUNG-WOO [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]