‘Jang Yoonki Case’ Reveals Collusion and Misconduct... Police to Launch Investigation Reform Task Force

New Internal Corruption Investigation Unit to Be Established Under the National Office of Investigation

In the course of investigating Jang Yoonki (23), who murdered a high school girl he had never met before, it was revealed that the head of the investigation team destroyed evidence and leaked investigation information to his father, who is an active police executive. In response, the police have decided to establish a dedicated reform task force and an internal corruption investigation team to prevent the recurrence of such misconduct.

The National Police Agency announced on July 10 that it plans to launch a Reform Task Force for Investigative Integrity (Investigation Reform TF) to enhance public trust in police investigations. The chairperson will be an external appointee. A police official explained, "This is to prevent the recurrence of similar cases like the Jang Yoonki incident and to establish strict oversight measures for police investigations."

Detective A, head of the investigation team at Gwangsan Police Station in Gwangju, accused of destroying evidence in the case of high school girl murder suspect Jang Yoon-gi, is attending the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing) held at the Gwangju District Court on the morning of the 8th. Photo by Yonhap News.

The Investigation Reform TF will consist of a majority of external members as well as an external chairperson. The task force plans to conduct a comprehensive review of similar cases across all police stations nationwide and to examine the overall investigative system.

Separately, the headquarters will create a new Internal Corruption Investigation Unit directly under National Office of Investigation Commissioner Hong Seokki. This is intended to ensure a rigorous response at the National Office of Investigation level to any misconduct that may occur during investigations by frontline officers.

Yu Jaeseong, Acting Commissioner General of the National Police Agency, is currently on a business trip to the United States to attend the United Nations Chiefs of Police Summit (UNCOPS), but he will return early on July 10 due to the fallout from the Jang Yoonki case. Immediately after his return, he plans to hold a virtual meeting with the police leadership to discuss these measures in detail, reaffirm leadership’s commitment to action, and urge participation from officers on the front lines.

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