'Restraint Tool' Disappears from Jang Yoon-Gi's Vehicle in High School Girl Murder Case... Did the Investigation Team Deliberately Destroy Evidence?

Key Evidence for Proving Sexual Crime Motive of Abduction and Restraint

Investigation Team Leader: "Investigation Was Inadequate... No Intentional Destruction of Evidence"

The reason behind the emergency arrest of the officer in charge of investigating the brutal murder of a high school girl by Jang Yoon-Gi (23) in downtown Gwangju has been confirmed as the destruction of crucial evidence—a 'restraint tool'—that could have definitively proven the charge of rape and murder, without securing it first.

Photo of Jang Yoon-gi's car captured by the media immediately after the incident on May 5. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to the National Police Agency and other sources on July 6, the head investigator, Inspector A, of the Gwangsan Police Station’s Criminal Affairs Division in Gwangju, discovered multiple bundles of cable ties during the search of the SUV used in the crime immediately after Jang Yoon-Gi’s arrest on May 5.

At the time, the vehicle contained cable ties of various sizes still in their original packaging, and the investigation team confirmed this and took forensic photographs and videos before the arrival of the forensic science team. Some investigation records also included this detail. However, the cable ties were missing from the final list of seized and key evidence, and the physical items themselves had disappeared without a trace.

These cable ties were critical physical evidence to support the prosecution’s charge of murder in the course of rape, specifically the intent to bind the victim’s hands and feet for abduction and restraint. The disappearance of this vital clue was only discovered during an internal affairs investigation by the National Police Agency, which was examining alleged collusion between Jang Yoon-Gi’s father and the investigation team.

In response, Inspector A’s side claimed, “There were shortcomings in the investigation, but there was no intentional destruction,” arguing negligence rather than intent. During the investigation, Inspector A explained, “At the time, I was focused on proving the murder charge and recovering weapons like knives, so I overlooked the importance of the cable ties. The omission happened because I was hurriedly preparing the report within the ten-day deadline for indictment after the arrest, and I have no relationship with Jang Yoon-Gi’s father.”

However, the police believe that Inspector A’s actions were likely intentional and are continuing the investigation. According to Article 155 of the Criminal Act on destruction of evidence, the crime is established only when both recognition of the item as criminal evidence and intent to conceal it are proven. Accordingly, the entire investigation team is being called as witnesses to determine the exact circumstances under which the cable ties were omitted from the evidence records.

In particular, the initial investigation team handed the SUV over to Jang Yoon-Gi’s father, a current police official, the day after the incident, immediately after finishing only bloodstain analysis. Inspector Jang personally drove the vehicle for nearly two weeks before the prosecution could conduct additional searches, thereby damaging evidence. Furthermore, the investigation team shared Jang Yoon-Gi’s studio apartment address, entry code, and ongoing sexual crime investigation details with Inspector Jang in real time. Based on this information, Inspector Jang directly dismantled and disposed of a 'damaged sex doll' in the apartment to conceal his son’s motive.

As the situation developed into a full-blown police scandal, the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency excluded the Gwangju Police command chain from the case on this day, and urgently formed a “special investigation team” of 27 members led by the headquarters’ director for investigation and human rights (senior superintendent) to launch a compulsory investigation.

The special investigation team is focusing on clarifying the exact circumstances and motives behind the disappearance of the cable ties through an intensive investigation of Inspector A. They also plan to thoroughly investigate all detectives on the investigative team and their supervisors for any organizational collusion or leakage of investigative information to Jang Yoon-Gi’s father.

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