[Anchor]
However, a different claim emerged from the Gwangsan Police Station. They stated that the Gwangsan station requested a combined investigation several times, but the National Office of Investigation (NOI) under the Korean National Police Agency refused to accept it. Furthermore, circumstances were captured indicating that an NOI official directed the separate investigations, stating it was under "the Chief's instructions."
Continuing with the report, here is reporter Son Gijun.
[Reporter]
Two days before the murder of the late Lee Chae-won, Jang Yoon-ki committed a sex crime against a woman in her 20s who is a foreign national.
However, the police separated the two cases, with the homicide division of the Gwangsan Police Station investigating the murder case and the juvenile and women's affairs division investigating the sex crime, forwarding them to the prosecution sequentially.
In response to criticisms that this was an intentional separation of the investigations, the legal representatives of the then-head of the Gwangsan Police Station's homicide division, Superintendent Park, claimed that the National Office of Investigation blocked a combined investigation.
[Choi In-gyu / Legal counsel for Superintendent Park (Yesterday): "Instructions came down from the National Office of Investigation three times to the effect of 'do not combine them,' so we (the homicide division) only investigated the ordinary case."]
They claim that because the combined investigation fell through due to the NOI's instructions, they had no choice but to apply general murder charges instead of rape-murder charges to Jang Yoon-ki.
Yesterday (the 21st), the court dismissed the arrest warrant for Superintendent Park, stating that it was "difficult to recognize grounds and justification" for his arrest.
This was interpreted as indicating the need to verify the decision-making process of higher authorities.
In fact, the special police investigation team confirmed that after the Jang Yoon-ki incident occurred, an NOI official mentioned separate investigations to the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency and sent a message stating it was "under the Chief's instructions."
Here, the "Chief" refers to former National Office of Investigation Chief Park Sung-ju, who retired last month.
Today, the special investigation team summoned the head of the violent crimes unit at the Gwangju Police Agency who received the message to investigate the circumstances and meaning behind receiving it.
Regarding this, former Chief Park explained in a phone call with SBS, "If there was anything special in the reported contents or if I had given direct instructions, I would remember, but I have no particular recollection."
Meanwhile, the special investigation team announced during its interim investigation briefing on the 15th that Jang Yoon-ki "may have known the late Lee Chae-won unilaterally," but stated that this investigation result turned out to be untrue.
(Camera Reporter: Joo Bum | Video Editor: Ahn Yeo-jin | Designer: Kang Yoon-jung, Choi Jae-young)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.