140 Rounds of Ammunition Missing from Daejeon and Cheonan Correctional Institutions... Police: “Likely Lost Several Years Ago”

[Financial News] Ammunition 140 rounds went missing from Daejeon and Cheonan correctional institutions, and police are reportedly investigating on the assumption that the ammunition was lost several years ago.
According to Yonhap News Agency and other reports on the 10th, Daejeon Yuseong Police Station said it had begun investigating an employee identified as A from Daejeon Correctional Institution on suspicion of embezzlement in the course of duty, after receiving a request for an investigation from the Ministry of Justice early last month.
The Ministry of Justice previously conducted a comprehensive audit of Daejeon Correctional Institution in June and found that the institution had 100 fewer 9mm K-5 rounds than the number recorded in its ledger. An internal investigation found no errors or incorrect entries in the ammunition records, nor any possibility that the rounds had been lost inside the ammunition storage facility.
The ministry then conducted a nationwide inspection of firearms and ammunition management at correctional facilities. The inspection found that Cheonan Correctional Institution also had 40 fewer 5.56mm M16 rounds than the number recorded in its ledger.
Based on witness interviews with Ministry of Justice officials and ammunition-supplier representatives, as well as evidence including ammunition ledger records, police believe the 100 rounds missing from Daejeon Correctional Institution disappeared in 2020.
A reportedly denied the allegations during questioning but was said to have no clear recollection of how or when the ammunition went missing.
No evidence has been found that A intentionally diverted the ammunition. Police are leaning toward the possibility that it was lost because of poor management or other related factors, rather than being deliberately taken by the employee in charge.
Chungnam Cheonan Seobuk Police Station is also investigating an employee identified as B on suspicion of embezzlement in the course of duty in connection with the disappearance of 40 rounds from Cheonan Correctional Institution.
A police official said, “The ammunition at Cheonan Correctional Institution is also presumed to have gone missing at least several years ago. It is true that the employee is being investigated on suspicion of embezzlement, but it is also difficult to rule out the possibility that the discrepancy arose because the actual inventory was not accurately counted during the ammunition-management process and inspections were conducted merely as a formality.”
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter