[Anchor]
The prosecution and the police have simultaneously conducted raids on the National Office of Investigation (NOI) at the National Police Agency, as part of an investigation into allegations of a botched probe into the Jang Yoon-gi case. With the NOI, the control tower of police investigations, effectively becoming a subject of the probe, it appears that the prosecution and the police are engaged in a competition for investigative dominance.
Report by Shin Yong-il.
[Reporter]
An investigative team from the Gwangju District Prosecutors Office arrived at the National Office of Investigation.
The search and seizure targeted offices including the Violent Crime Investigation Division and the Women and Juvenile Crime Investigation Division of the NOI.
The raids were conducted to determine whether the police leadership intervened in the investigation regarding allegations of a botched probe into Jang Yoon-gi, a high school student murderer.
The prosecution suspects that higher-ups at the National Police Agency may have been involved in the process of applying charges of general murder, which carries a lighter sentence than rape-murder, to Jang Yoon-gi.
Around 7:30 a.m., about an hour after the prosecution began its raid, a special police investigation unit also commenced a search and seizure at the same location.
However, it is reported that the police executed their warrant only after observing the situation of the prosecution, which had started its raid earlier.
Although the prosecution and the police are applying different charges, it is highly unusual for both agencies to raid the same location simultaneously when the underlying criminal facts are effectively the same and the targets of the search overlap.
As statements from investigative team members have emerged suggesting that instructions to separate Jang Yoon-gi's murder and sex crime charges were issued at the NOI level, analysts suggest that the prosecution and police have begun a full-scale competition to seize control of the investigation.
A subtle war of nerves between the two investigative agencies is also being detected.
The police criticized the prosecution, stating that there was a lack of basic respect for a state institution, noting that the raid was conducted before employees had even arrived for work. The prosecution countered by arguing that it makes no sense for a special investigation unit formed by the NOI to raid the NOI itself.
Reported by Choi Dae-woong | Video by Park Chun-bae | Graphics by Kang Yoon-jung
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