[Anchor]
According to SBS coverage, it has been confirmed that just one day before Jang Yoon-gi murdered the late Lee Chae-won, the police missed their final chance to prevent the crime. There is a guideline known as the "follow-up callback," which mandates that if a stalking report is filed, the police must call the reporter the next day. However, the police failed to follow this protocol. The prosecution views this as another reason why police leadership allegedly ordered the cover-up of the case.
This is an exclusive report by reporter Shin Yong-il.
[Reporter]
In October 2021, ahead of the implementation of the Stalking Punishment Act, the Korean National Police Agency distributed "Measures to Strengthen Response to Stalking Crimes" to frontline police stations.
The measures state that whenever a stalking report is received, police must call the reporter the "very next day."
The purpose of this so-called "follow-up callback" is to check the victim's current status, assess the possibility of additional harm, and guide them on support measures.
However, SBS coverage confirmed that the police who received a stalking report from a Vietnamese woman two days before Jang Yoon-gi murdered the late Lee Chae-won not only failed to process the case immediately, but also neglected to make the mandatory "follow-up callback" the day after the report.
The issue is that the victim, the Vietnamese woman, filed a complaint with a different police station on May 4, the day after her report, stating that she had been sexually assaulted by Jang Yoon-gi.
Had the police conducted the "follow-up callback" the next day as mandated by the manual, they would have likely uncovered the fact that Jang had committed sexual assault alongside stalking, which could have led to attempts to secure Jang's custody and potentially prevented the subsequent crime.
The police, having missed the final chance to prevent Jang Yoon-gi's murder, were found to have contacted the Vietnamese victim on May 5, after the late Lee Chae-won had already died.
Gwangsan Police Station explained, "There were so many stalking reports at the time," adding, "As we were conducting the 'follow-up callbacks' sequentially, it appears to have been delayed by a day."
Having confirmed through questioning of those involved that the "follow-up callback" measure was delayed at the time, the prosecution reportedly views this as one of the reasons why police leadership ordered the cover-up of the Jang Yoon-gi case.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
(Video Reported by Yang Hyun-chul | Video Edited by Lee So-young | Design by Hwang Se-yeon)
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