What are the families of the Changwon motel attack victims accusing police of?

They accuse the police officer in charge of arriving too late and failing to take adequate action despite earlier reports on the day of the attack. The complaint was filed with prosecutors by the victims’ families through their legal representative.

Why was the Changwon motel suspect already under probation scrutiny before the killings?

The suspect had been on probation after a 2021 rape conviction, and the law firm said he was found not to have stayed at the address he had registered with the probation officer. That issue is part of the complaint filed after the fatal attack.

Families of motel attack victims accuse police officer of dereliction of duty

Q: What happened when police questioned the Changwon motel suspect before the attack?

Police questioned him just hours before the incident on suspicion of entering a woman's home with a weapon, but he was released because the conditions for emergency arrest were not met. Police later said they had no legal grounds to notify the probation office about the questioning.

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Summary

Families of two teenagers killed in a Changwon motel knife attack last year filed a complaint with prosecutors against the police officer in charge and others for failing to do their duties. Their lawyer said the officer arrived too late and did not act adequately after earlier reports that day. The complaint also names nine other people, including a probation officer, over concerns about the suspect’s supervision before the fatal attack.

Key Facts

The complaint was filed with the Changwon District Prosecutors Office on Thursday.
The law firm said the complaint targets nine other individuals in addition to the police officer in charge.
The suspect was on probation after a 2021 rape conviction and was found not to have stayed at the address he had registered with the probation officer.
Police had questioned the suspect just hours before the motel incident on suspicion of entering a woman's home with a weapon, but released him because the conditions for emergency arrest were not met.

By Yonhap

Published Sep 11, 2026 4:35 pm KST

Police officers inspect areas near the scene of a knife attack, Dec. 3, 2025, at a motel in the southeastern city of Changwon. Yonhap

The families of two teenagers killed by a knife-wielding man at a motel in Changwon last year have filed a complaint against the police officer in charge and others for failing to fulfill their duties, their legal representative said Friday.

The families filed a complaint with the Changwon District Prosecutors Office on Thursday alleging that the officer in charge arrived too late to the scene and failed to take adequate action despite having received relevant reports earlier that day, according to law firm Taejin.

The two victims were killed in December by the suspect in his 20s, who jumped to his death at the site of the crime in the city located some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul after also seriously injuring another middle school student.

The law firm said the complaint also targets nine other individuals, including a probation officer. The deceased suspect was on probation following his conviction in 2021 for rape but was found to have not stayed at the address he had registered with the probation officer, which should have raised alarms before the fatal incident took place.

Also, the suspect was reportedly questioned by the police just hours before the incident on suspicions of entering a woman's home with a weapon but was released because the conditions for emergency arrest were not met.

Police said at the time that they did not notify the probation office of the questioning because there were no legal grounds to do so.

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