South Korean prosecutors have indicted Park Sung-joo, a former head of the National Investigation Headquarters, along with three other individuals, on charges linked to an alleged attempt to suppress a rape case, according to donga.com.
The indictment stems from an incident in which Park reportedly said, "Let's keep the rape quiet," a remark that has drawn significant public scrutiny. Prosecutors are treating the comment as part of a broader effort to obstruct or improperly influence the handling of a sexual assault investigation.
The case is connected to the separate investigation of Jang Yoon-ki, a former police official, whose alleged mishandling of a case involving the death of a young woman named Lee Chae-won has become a focal point of public outrage. The prosecution's decision to separate Jang's case from the broader inquiry drew criticism from Park, who accused authorities of "belittling the police," according to reports from MBC and other outlets.
Prosecutors have explained that the decision to split the investigations was influenced by the public backlash following the Namyangju incident, which exposed failures in police work and led to renewed scrutiny of how sexual assault cases are handled. The family of Lee Chae-won has publicly stated that police inaction and dereliction of duty contributed to her death, as reported by Munhwa Ilbo.
Park has pushed back against the charges, maintaining that his actions were part of routine instructions rather than an attempt to interfere with justice. The case now moves to court, where the prosecution will need to prove that the former police chief's words and conduct crossed a legal line.
Observers will be watching whether this indictment leads to broader accountability for senior police officials implicated in the mishandling of sexual violence cases.
