"The Public Is Watching"... CCTV That Once Monitored Citizens Is Now Pointed at the Police

[Financial News] An unusual public service ad that appears to be watching the police has drawn attention in Jeju Province, where criticism has mounted over police mishandling, including the false closure of a long-term missing person case.
According to Yonhap News Agency and others on the 31st, Jeski Social Campaign, run by public service advertising expert Jeski, said it had staged a guerrilla-style public interest campaign using CCTV in Hallim-eup, Jeju-si, and around Jeju Western Police Station the previous day.
The ad showed a woman looking beyond the CCTV camera while several citizens watched, alongside the phrase, "The public is watching." At the bottom, it read, "We hope the police will regain public trust." The campaign was said to express the idea that "greater power requires greater checks."
The public service ad was also installed in front of Jeju Western Police Station and near a palm farm in Hallim-eup, Jeju-si, where the body of a woman in her 30s, Ms. Jang, who was later found dead after a long disappearance, was discovered.
However, the CCTV used in the campaign was a mock device with no actual filming, recording, or personal data collection functions, and the installation was voluntarily removed that same day.
The campaign came as controversy continued over the police's initial response after it was revealed that a police officer in his 30s, identified as A, who handled Ms. Jang's case, falsely closed the case and deleted the missing person's information from the police system. Ms. Jang was found in Hallim-eup, Jeju Province, on the 24th, 104 days after the missing report was filed in May. Officer A is also accused of falsely closing a missing-person report filed by a man in his 60s, identified as B, using the same method. Mr. B's body was also found somewhere in Jeju on the 22nd.
While the police were failing to properly investigate the disappearance, many of the surrounding CCTV clips that could have confirmed Ms. Jang's last known movements had already been erased after the retention period of 30 days expired.
The institute explained, "We focused on the fact that controversy over the initial response grew after it became known that nearby CCTV footage that could have been secured early in the disappearance had disappeared after the retention period expired, and that an official request to review it was made only afterward." It added, "Rather than attacking a specific individual, we aimed to raise questions from the public's perspective about the police's role and responsibility, as well as the flaws in the system."
Meanwhile, the Jeju Provincial Police Agency plans to send Officer A, who has been arrested on charges of dereliction of duty, falsifying and using false public electronic records, and obstructing official duties by deceptive means, to the Jeju District Prosecutors' Office on the 1st of next month.
The Jeju District Prosecutors' Office designated the chief of the Criminal Division 1 as the lead prosecutor on the 24th and formed a dedicated investigation team with staff from the office to review the case. Once the case is transferred, prosecutors plan to examine the police investigation records closely to determine Officer A's motive, any additional false closures, and whether there were other victims.
[email protected] Kim Soo-yeon Reporter