Police Officer Who Leaked Investigation Info Previously Received Commendation for 'Protecting Crime Victims'

It has been confirmed that a police inspector surnamed Park, who leads an investigation team at the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station and was recently arrested on charges including the destruction of key evidence in the murder case of the late Lee Chae-won, previously received a ministerial commendation for the protection of crime victims. According to the records submitted by the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency to the office of Representative Shin Dong-wook of the People Power Party, Inspector Park received a commendation from the Minister of the Interior and Safety in October 2022 to mark the 77th Police Day. The reason for the commendation was his "significant contribution to the protection of crime victims through a strong sense of duty." Official documents show that Inspector Park managed 128 crime victims through close monitoring, with his primary achievement cited as providing smartwatches to 74 victims who felt their personal safety was at risk. Inspector Park, who joined the police force in 1996, received a "Model Public Servant" commendation from the Prime Minister in 2008. Furthermore, the detective team led by Park was selected as the "Top Detective Team of the Gwangju Agency" in 2023, bringing his total number of commendations to 43 as of last year. The prosecution is expanding its investigation, suspecting that Inspector Park hid a 50-centimeter industrial cable tie found in the vehicle of Jang Yoon-gi, which was allegedly prepared to restrain the victim. On May 5, the day the late Lee Chae-won was murdered, the investigation team led by Park discovered the cable tie in the suspect Jang Yoon-gi's SUV. It is reported that Inspector Park instructed his team members to "leave the cable tie as it is." The following day, on May 6, Inspector Park handed over the vehicle used in the crime to a serving police officer, Inspector Jang, who is the father of Jang Yoon-gi. Inspector Jang subsequently removed the cable tie from the vehicle and hid it at his home. As these circumstances regarding the concealment and downplaying of the crime were uncovered through the prosecution's supplementary investigation, the bereaved family of the victim in the "Jang Yoon-gi case" expressed their outrage during a press conference on July 8, stating, "The police, whom we trusted to resolve our daughter's injustice, were not on our side, but on the side of the murderer." Reported by Kim Taewon | Video by Ryu Jisu | Graphics by Yang Hyemin | Produced by SBS Digital News

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