Circumstances are continuously emerging that the Gwangsan Police Station, which handled the initial response to the murder of a female high school student in Gwangju, inadequately handled a report from a Vietnamese woman who claimed she was being stalked by the murderer, Jang Yoon-gi.
It was revealed that the police officers dispatched to the stalking scene at the time sent only a single warning text message to Jang Yoon-gi and failed to even book him for the case.
Jang is also accused of breaking into the studio apartment of a Vietnamese woman he met while working part-time, sexually assaulting her, and stalking her two days before murdering the female high school student.
Although this case serves as crucial evidence supporting Jang's charge of rape and murder, the Gwangsan Police Station did not merge it with the murder investigation, instead assigning it to the Women and Youth Division for a separate investigation.
According to data submitted by the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency to the office of People Power Party lawmaker Seo Bum-soo, the Cheomdan District Unit of the Gwangsan Police Station was dispatched to the scene around 8 p.m. on May 3 after a Vietnamese woman, A, reported stalking to 112.
Police officers belonging to the Women and Youth Division of the Gwangsan Police Station also accompanied them.
However, it was found that the police at the time merely sent a single warning text message to Jang Yoon-gi.
This differs from Jang's indictment, which states that "Jang received warning text messages to stop stalking multiple times from a police officer belonging to the Cheomdan District Unit."
The police's stance is that "indictments are written by the prosecution, not the police."
It was shown that the police at the time judged that Jang was not visible at the scene and that a criminal investigation was unnecessary.
A police official explained, "We suggested filing a case after seeing the scratch on the neck of the Vietnamese woman, A, but A said she did not want to because she was planning to move to Chilgok, North Gyeongsang Province," adding, "She requested personal protection only while moving her luggage."
The prosecution explained, "Indictments are written based on police investigation records," and "The number of times a warning text was sent is something that needs to be newly verified."
After receiving the stalking warning text message, Jang Yoon-gi removed his cell phone USIM chip and threw it into the Yeongsan River.
Two days later, he committed the murder.
(Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Na Hong-hee | Design by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News)
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