President Lee Myung-bak on Monday accepted the resignation of National Police Agency Commissioner General Cho Hyun-oh over a bungled murder investigation.

Cho said he would take responsibility for accusations that the police carelessly dealt with a desperate phone call from the victim in which she reported her exact whereabouts. But it took 13 hours for police to locate the 28-year-old woman in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, by which time she had been raped, killed and mutilated.

According to the presidential office, Lee will appoint a new commissioner after the general election on Wednesday.