Police to introduce new measures to better handle public drunkenness

The police have vowed to introduce better measures to handle intoxicated members of the public on streets, following criticisms over their poor response which has recently led to a series of deaths.

At about 8:10 p.m., Jan. 19, Dongdaemun Police Station in Seoul received a report that a drunk man in his 50s was sleeping on the street. Two officers were deployed on-site, but after a failed attempt to wake him up — which lasted for about six minutes — they left him lying on the street without taking additional measures.

About 40 minutes later, the man was struck by a van. He was pronounced dead while being transferred to a nearby hospital. CCTV footage showed that at the time of the incident, the officers were sitting in their car across the street. The officers are currently under internal investigation over their handling of the intoxicated individual.

On Nov. 30 of last year, two police officers in Gangbuk District, Seoul, found an intoxicated man in his 60s sleeping on the street. They took him to his home but left him on the doorstep, without confirming whether he went inside.

At about 7:15 a.m. the next morning, the man was found dead by neighbors. Although the exact cause of death is unknown, some speculated that he may have frozen to death. Overnight, the capital had been hit by a cold snap with temperatures dropping to minus nine degrees Celsius.

According to the police station, the two officers who had taken the man home are now facing charges over alleged professional negligence resulting in death and injuries.

As public criticism mounts over law enforcement authorities’ botched response to these incidents, National Police Agency chief Yoon Hee-keun vowed to come up with improved measures in order to prevent the recurrence of similar tragedies.

Yoon convened a meeting on Wednesday to discuss why the current measures failed to protect the victims. He called officers to improve procedures.