Police Raid Gwangju Police Chief's Office... Senior Officials in Jang Yoon-gi Investigation Subject to Compulsory Probe

Including the Office of the Gwangsan Police Station Chief

The Special Investigation Team of the National Office of Investigation at the Korean National Police Agency, which is currently investigating allegations of inadequate and concealed investigations in the case of Jang Yoon-gi (23), the "Gwangju high school girl murderer," has launched a compulsory investigation targeting senior officials in the investigative command, including conducting a search and seizure of the office of the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency chief.

Jang Yoonki (23), who is accused of murder and attempted murder, is being transferred from Gwangju Seobu Police Station to the prosecution on the morning of the 14th. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the special investigation team on July 11, investigators executed search and seizure warrants at seven locations: three sites within the jurisdiction of the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency including the agency chief's office, two locations including the office of the Gwangsan Police Station chief, and the current offices of officials who were part of the investigative command line at the time of the incident.

This search and seizure is interpreted as a targeted investigation of the command staff to determine whether there was acquiescence or organized protection from higher-ups, following the arrest of Inspector A, head of the serious crime team at Gwangsan Police Station, who was detained on charges of evidence destruction after having led the initial investigation into the Jang Yoon-gi case.

Inspector A, who was previously arrested, is accused of discovering a 'cable tie,' a key bundle of physical evidence proving the charge of rape and murder, in the passenger seat of Jang Yoon-gi's vehicle (an SUV) on the day of the incident, May 5, but instructing on-site investigators not to seize it. Additionally, at the beginning of this month, when controversy erupted over the initial inadequate investigation, he allegedly attempted to delete and destroy video evidence filmed during the vehicle search.

The investigations into police information leaks and evidence destruction related to this case are currently being conducted independently by both the prosecution and the police.

Separately from the police special investigation team's actions, the dedicated investigation team at the Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office also executed a search and seizure at Gwangsan Police Station and other locations on the previous day, July 10. This is already the second search and seizure by the prosecution since July 7. In particular, the prosecution has officially booked the former Gwangsan Police Station chief (a senior superintendent), who has already been placed on standby, and the then head of the criminal division who led the serious crime team at the time, as suspects for official information leaks and evidence destruction, and is currently investigating after securing relevant work-related materials.

Judicial authorities are probing the circumstances in which Jang Yoon-gi’s father, an incumbent police executive, repeatedly communicated with the Gwangsan Police Station investigation team, received key confidential information such as the details of his son’s arrest warrant application in real time, and used this to orchestrate evidence destruction, including disposing of a "damaged sex doll" in his son's studio apartment and incinerating past mobile phones. The 40 cm-long black cable tie for binding, which had gone missing, was discovered and urgently secured as physical evidence during the prosecution’s search and seizure of the father’s residence on July 7.

Once the analysis of call records and digital forensic materials secured through the joint search and seizures is complete, the special investigation teams of both the prosecution and police plan to summon the command officials in turn and determine the level of punishment.

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