Court fines man 5 million won for falsely reporting friend deserted with gun
In short
A man in his 20s was fined 5 million won by Changwon District Court for falsely telling police that his friend had deserted the military while carrying a gun. The report, made at 5:15 a.m. on 3 January from a street in Busan Jin-gu, sent nine officers to the scene and drew in police from 15 stations. The court said his culpability was heavy but took account of his admission, his reflection and prior treatment for impulse control.
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A man in his 20s has been fined 5 million won for falsely telling police that his friend had deserted the military while carrying a gun, a report that triggered a search by officers from 15 police stations. Changwon District Court Criminal Division 1, with Judge Kim Se-wook presiding, handed down the sentence, the court said on 4 October. [ 2 , 3 ]
The report was made at 5:15 a.m. on 3 January on a street in Busan Jin-gu. Maeil Business reported that the man, who was drunk, called 112 and said a soldier had deserted and was carrying a gun, adding that the two had been together before the man ran off. He made the call after stewing over an earlier argument with the friend, the report said. The friend, however, was a supplementary reservist who commutes from his home rather than an active-duty soldier, according to Maeil Business. [ 2 ]
Nine officers were sent to the reported location and searched the area, and police from 15 police stations, including Busan Jungbu Police Station, and their local boxes were dispatched, the reports said. Maeil Business said Gyeongnam police also sent personnel to the friend's home after a request for cooperation; Dong-A Ilbo specified that officers from the Gongnyong police box at Goseong Police Station in Gyeongnam went to the residence. [ 2 , 3 ]
The court said culpability was heavy because a false report about a friend deserting with a gun while drunk caused many officers from several police stations to be dispatched. It also considered that the man admitted the offence and showed remorse, and that he had been receiving treatment since before the incident for impulse control, Maeil Business reported; Dong-A Ilbo said the earlier treatment covered adjustment disorder, depression and impulse control. [ 2 , 3 ]
Maeil Business described the charge as obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means and other charges, while Dong-A Ilbo cited obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means. The reports did not say whether the sentence is being appealed. [ 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The case illustrates how a single false emergency call can pull officers from multiple police stations and districts into a search, a cost the court cited in sentencing. It is a routine lower-court ruling with no wider policy consequences indicated in the documents.
Key facts
- Changwon District Court sentenced a man in his 20s to a 5 million won fine over a false report to police. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The report was made at 5:15 a.m. on 3 January on a street in Busan Jin-gu. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The man told the 112 emergency line that a soldier had deserted and was carrying a gun, Maeil Business reported. [ 2 ]
- The friend he named was a supplementary reservist who commuted from his home, not an active-duty soldier, according to Maeil Business. [ 2 ]
- Nine officers were sent to the scene and searched the area, and police from 15 police stations were dispatched, the reports said. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The charge was obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means, with Maeil Business also citing additional charges. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The court cited heavy culpability but also the man's admission, his reflection and earlier medical treatment for impulse control. [ 2 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- A man in his 20s was fined 5 million won by Changwon District Court over a false report that a soldier had deserted with a gun. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The false report was made at 5:15 a.m. on 3 January from a street in Busan Jin-gu. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Police from 15 police stations were dispatched and officers searched the area. [ 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- Which police unit the nine officers sent to the scene belonged to. Maeil Business says they came from a nearby police box (지구대), while Dong-A Ilbo says nine officers from Busan Jin Police Station searched the area.
- Whether the man has appealed or whether the sentence is final. The documents do not say.
- How much the false report cost in total or whether the friend faced any consequences. Not addressed in the documents.
- Case details beyond the two court reports. A third document's headline matched the case, but its article text concerned unrelated remarks by President Lee Jae-myung, so it was used only for the basic fact of the police dispatch and the fine.