"Denied CCTV Access": Cat Rescued from Elevator Shaft After 31 Hours

Hired a Detective to Find the Missing Cat

"Cannot Show CCTV Footage Directly Under Current Law"

A story has emerged about a pet owner whose cat went missing from their apartment and who requested access to closed-circuit (CC)TV footage from the management office, but was repeatedly denied, resulting in a delay in rescuing the animal.

On June 2, JTBC's "Incident Commander" reported the account of a family, referred to as Mr. A, who owns a cat. During the Buddha's Birthday holiday last month, Mr. A lost their pet cat of eight years. The cat managed to slip outside while the front door was opened several times as relatives visited the home.

The image of a pet cat fallen down the elevator shaft. Photo by JTBC

After searching the apartment for some time, Mr. A's family requested to view the CCTV footage from the management office. However, the office responded, "Due to the Personal Information Protection Act, we cannot show you the footage directly." Instead, a staff member who reviewed the footage informed them, "The cat is not visible."

Subsequently, Mr. A's family even hired a detective specializing in searching for lost pets. During this process, it is reported that they requested the office to check the CCTV footage again as many as eight times. Ultimately, the CCTV captured the cat squeezing through the gap in the elevator doors on the first floor of the apartment. The cat then fell down the elevator shaft. After confirming this, the family called a repair technician to halt the elevator's operation and rescued the cat.

As a result, the cat was rescued after being missing for 31 hours. A thorough examination revealed that both of the cat's jaw joints were fractured, four ribs were broken, and there was a risk of blindness in the left eye. Mr. A lamented, "If we could have checked the footage a little earlier, the cat's condition might not have deteriorated this much."

However, the management office explained, "There was a shortage of personnel due to the holiday, and the exact time frame was not specified," adding, "It seems we missed the relevant scene while reviewing the footage at two to three times the normal speed."

According to current personal information protection regulations, individuals may directly view CCTV footage in which they themselves appear, but access to footage in which they do not appear requires cooperation from police or other investigative authorities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.