It has been confirmed that not only the father of Jang Yoon-gi, the perpetrator of the Gwangju high school girl murder case, but also his uncle is a serving police officer.
The National Police Agency's special investigation team has confirmed that Jang's uncle, identified as A, is an active-duty police officer and is investigating whether there were any personal ties or past professional connections between A and the team investigating Jang's case.
However, it was determined that the uncle is a mid-level officer at a regional police agency other than the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency.
The police stated that they would take strict measures if any evidence of collusion between A and the investigation team is found.
Previously, suspicions of evidence tampering and protecting one's own were raised after it was revealed that Jang's father was a serving police officer.
This is because it was revealed that multiple phone calls were made between the investigation team and Jang's father while Jang was in custody, and that the father subsequently attempted to conceal key evidence discovered during the investigation.
Earlier, the investigation team at Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station discovered cable ties in a plastic bag inside Jang's SUV after his arrest and recorded them on video, but they did not secure the items as evidence and returned the vehicle to Jang's father.
The team leader is currently accused of ordering team members to delete the recorded video and attempting to withhold the footage from the prosecution.
It was found that after receiving the vehicle, Jang's father hid the cable ties at his home and drove the vehicle himself for about 15 days.
Furthermore, investigations revealed that after the incident, Jang's father used the address and passcode provided by the investigation team to enter his son's residence, where he disposed of a mobile phone and a damaged sex doll, and continued to communicate with the investigation team over 10 times thereafter.
The cable ties and the damaged sex doll are key pieces of evidence for the charge of rape and murder, which carries a higher minimum sentence than murder alone.
The prosecution has booked and is investigating multiple members of the investigation team on charges including leaking official secrets, destruction of evidence, and aiding and abetting the destruction of evidence.
The National Police Agency has also launched its own investigation, relieving the head of the violent crimes unit in charge of the case from his position and placing the chief of the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station on standby.
Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Jang Yu-jin | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News
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