'Jang Yoon-ki Cable Tie Evidence Tampering Allegation'... Gwangsan Police Violent Crimes Team Leader Arrested

Court Cites "Risk of Evidence Destruction and Flight"

The head of the violent crimes team at Gwangsan Police Station, who oversaw the initial investigation into the brutal murder of a high school girl by Jang Yoon-ki (23) in downtown Gwangju, has been arrested. He is accused of deliberately leaving the cable ties used to bind the victim at the crime scene and leaking information about the investigation.

Detective A, the head of the investigation team at Gwangsan Police Station in Gwangju, accused of destroying evidence in the 'High School Girl Murderer' Jang Yoon Ki case, is seen coming out of the courtroom after attending the pre-arrest suspect hearing at the Gwangju District Court in Dong-gu, Jeonnam Gwangju Metropolitan City, on the morning of the 8th. Photo by Yonhap News

On July 8, Choi Yoon-young, the judge in charge of warrants at the Gwangju District Court, issued an arrest warrant after completing the pre-arrest suspect hearing for Detective A, the head of the violent crimes team at Gwangsan Police Station, who faces charges including leaking official secrets and destroying evidence.

Judge Choi cited "the seriousness of the case and the risk of evidence destruction and flight" as the reasons for granting the warrant.

Detective A is accused of discovering a bundle of black cable ties, each measuring 40 cm long and 0.5 cm wide, in the passenger compartment of the SUV used in the crime on May 5, the very day Jang Yoon-ki murdered 17-year-old Lee Chae-won for sexual purposes. He allegedly left the evidence at the scene without securing the actual items, thereby destroying them.

Video footage from the investigation at the time shows Detective A instructing his team to "leave it in the car as is." Earlier this month, as criticism mounted over the police's initial mishandling of the investigation, additional evidence surfaced that Detective A instructed a subordinate officer to delete video recordings of the scene.

Detective A is also accused of leaking confidential investigation details in real time—including information about search warrants and arrest warrant requests—by having multiple phone conversations with Jang Yoon-ki's father, himself an active police officer, during the early stages of the case. The investigation team returned the SUV, which still bore the victim's bloodstains, to the father immediately after forensic examination, allowing him to use it for two weeks. They also provided the address and password of Jang's rented room, enabling the father to destroy key evidence—the damaged sex doll—by cutting it up and burning it himself. The cable ties, which had been missing, were discovered and seized the previous day by prosecutors during a search of the father's residence, still in their original, unopened packaging.

During questioning, Detective A admitted that the initial investigation was inadequate but denied any intent to conceal evidence. He claimed he only postponed writing a report because he believed the case could proceed by sending the cable ties and footage to the prosecution once the physical evidence was secured. He also denied instructing anyone to delete videos. However, the court did not accept his explanation.

On the same day, the special investigation team of the National Investigation Headquarters at the Korean National Police Agency questioned Jang Yoon-ki's father, who appeared as a suspect and reference witness. They focused on how he communicated with the investigation team and the background of the organized destruction of evidence—such as the sex doll and cable ties—related to his son's crime.

The Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office's dedicated investigation team also summoned two officers from Gwangsan Police Station who had participated in the initial investigation as reference witnesses, questioning them in detail about the team leader's order to delete evidence and whether there had been any external pressure or requests from higher-ups. As a result of the incident, six police officials, including the chief of Gwangsan Police Station and the head of the criminal division, have already been suspended from their duties or placed on administrative leave.

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