Former Gwangsan Police Criminal Chief in 'Jang Yoon-gi Investigation Mishandling' Case Has Arrest Warrant Dismissed Again

Court: "Difficult to Recognize the Necessity of Detention"

The second arrest warrant for the former criminal division chief of Gwangsan Police Station in Gwangju, who is suspected of leading the initial mishandling and alleged cover-up of the investigation into 'Gwangju high school girl murder suspect' Jang Yoon-gi (age 24), has once again been dismissed by the court.

Detective Superintendent A, former head of the Criminal Division at Gwangsan Police Station, who is under investigation for instructing to separate the investigations of murder and sex crimes in the Jang Yoonki case, is leaving the Gwangju District Court in Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, Jeollanam-do, after completing the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant substantive hearing) on the 31st. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On the 31st, Presiding Judge Jeong Gyohyung of the Gwangju District Court, who is responsible for reviewing warrants, conducted a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant substantive examination) for Superintendent A of the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency, who is under suspicion of abuse of authority and dereliction of duty. After the hearing, the judge dismissed the preliminary arrest warrant requested by the special investigation unit of the National Police Agency.

Judge Jeong explained the reason for the dismissal, stating, "Even after considering the additional evidence obtained since the previous 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 justification for detaining the suspect."

Superintendent A is accused of unjustly intervening in the Jang Yoon-gi investigation last May by instructing the case to be forwarded to the prosecution on the lesser charge of 'simple murder'—which carries a lighter sentence—instead of 'murder for the purpose of rape,' which carries a minimum life sentence. He is also accused of poorly directing the initial investigation by failing to secure key evidence such as the 'cable tie' found in the suspect’s vehicle. In addition, A is suspected of neglecting his duties by not investigating separate crimes of 'stalking and sexual assault' connected to Jang Yoon-gi’s murder, and instead referring these offenses to another department for separate handling.

Previously, the special investigation unit re-applied for the warrant on the 28th after their initial application had been dismissed on the 21st, supplementing their case by analyzing confiscated items and re-interrogating the suspect. However, the court dismissed the warrant again after just 10 days.

After the warrant examination, A's defense attorney stated, "Although it has been alleged that Superintendent A was aware of the existence of the cable tie from the outset, only the on-site investigation team was aware of this; it was not reported to him," adding, "The claim that the charge of rape-murder was deliberately omitted to conceal the prior stalking offense is only a scenario, and there was no issue with the handling of the case." The attorney denied the allegations.

Immediately after the hearing, Superintendent A commented, "I sincerely apologize to the deceased and the bereaved family," and added, "I provided a full explanation during the warrant examination."

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