Former Chief of Criminal Division Who Led 'Jang Yoon-gi Incident' Investigation Has Arrest Warrant Dismissed Again

Warrant Reapplied with Supplemental Evidence and Statements
Court: "Room for Dispute over Charges"

The pre-arrest warrant, which the police reapplied for regarding the former head of the Criminal Division at the Gwangsan Police Station who led the investigation into the 'Jang Yoon-gi incident,' has been dismissed again.

On July 31, Jeong Kyo-hyung, Chief Judge in charge of warrants at the Gwangju District Court, conducted a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant review) for Superintendent A of the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency, who is accused of abuse of authority and dereliction of duty, and rejected the arrest warrant requested by the police agency's special investigation unit for the fact-finding of the 'Jang Yoon-gi incident.'

Detective Superintendent A, former Head of the Criminal Division at Gwangsan Police Station, who was under investigation for directing the separation of murder and sexual offense cases in the Jang Yoon-Gi incident, is coming out after completing the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant review) on the 31st at the Gwangju District Court in Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, Jeollanam-do. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Chief Judge Jeong stated, "Even when considering the additional evidence gathered after the previous arrest warrant was dismissed, there is still room for dispute regarding the criminal charges," adding, "At this stage, it is difficult to recognize the necessity and adequacy of detention."

This marks the second time Superintendent A's arrest warrant has been dismissed, with the previous dismissal taking place on July 21. The special investigation unit reinforced the case with additional materials and statements before reapplying for an arrest warrant on the same charges.

Superintendent A is accused of inadequately supervising the investigation while serving as the head of the Criminal Division at Gwangsan Police Station during the incident in May, in which Jang Yoon-gi (23) murdered a female high school sophomore (16).

At the time, police forwarded Jang Yoon-gi to the prosecution on the charge of 'simple murder,' which carries a statutory minimum sentence of five years in prison, instead of 'murder with intent to rape,' which carries at least life imprisonment.

Superintendent A is also suspected of neglecting his responsibilities as the lead investigator by failing to investigate stalking and sexual assault incidents related to Jang Yoon-gi's murder together, instead transferring them to another department.

During both warrant reviews, Superintendent A's legal representatives told reporters, "We also reviewed the charge of murder with intent to rape based on five clues, including the damaged sex doll, and included the findings in an additional report attached to the record transferred to the prosecution."

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