[Anchor]
It has been revealed that the father of 23-year-old Jang Yoon-gi, a suspect in the murder of a high school girl in Gwangju, is an active-duty police officer who previously worked at the same precinct that handled his son's investigation until last year. The National Police Agency has launched an internal inspection to verify the facts, including the overall investigation process.
Reporter Jeon Yeonnam has the story.
[Reporter]
The Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station was responsible for the initial investigation into Jang Yoon-gi, who murdered the late Lee Chae-won last May.
However, an SBS investigation has confirmed that Jang's father, identified by his surname Jang, a police inspector who destroyed key evidence related to his son's sex crimes—specifically "real dolls"—was previously stationed at the Gwangsan Police Station, which handled the investigation into his son.
Inspector Jang is currently working at a different patrol division in Gwangju. He is reportedly on leave and has applied for a leave of absence starting in the middle of this month.
Inspector Jang, who is known to have had previous investigative experience before his assignment to the patrol division, destroyed the evidence, including the dolls, just three days after his son's crime and the day after his son was arrested. The police were unaware of this fact at the time.
Regarding this, an official from the Gwangsan Police Station told SBS, "We conducted the investigation thoroughly, independent of Inspector Jang," adding, "We did not see the need to seize the real dolls as physical evidence."
In response, the National Police Agency has stepped in directly.
In a statement released yesterday (July 2), the National Police Agency announced, "We will verify the facts through an inspection regarding the shortcomings in the investigation process and the allegations of evidence tampering by the suspect's father."
Typically, inspections of police inspectors are handled by regional police agencies, but the headquarters has taken direct control due to the gravity of the situation.
A National Police Agency official explained, "This measure was taken in consideration of concerns regarding potential collusion or public speculation, given that an active-duty police officer is involved."
The National Police Agency plans to focus its inspection on whether the case was reported to superiors during the investigation, the appropriateness of the evidence preservation measures, and the possibility of any leaks regarding the investigation details.
(Video Editing: Yoon Tae-ho)
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