Focusing on Background of 'Separated Investigation'... Former Head of Criminal Division at Gwangju Police Agency Summoned

[Anchor]

The special investigation unit of the National Police Agency, which is investigating allegations of investigative misconduct in the Jang Yoon-ki case, has summoned a senior superintendent-level official from the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency for questioning. The unit appears focused on clarifying why the stalking and sexual assault case, which would have proven the sexual motive of the murder, was investigated separately, and what directives were exchanged during this process.

Reporter An Huijae has the details.

[Reporter]

The individual summoned as a reference witness by the special investigation unit today (July 25) is Senior Superintendent Lee, former head of the criminal division at the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency.

The special investigation unit is looking into whether Park Sung-ju, then head of the National Office of Investigation, intervened in the process where the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station "separately investigated" the murder of a high school girl committed by Jang Yoon-ki and the stalking and sexual assault crimes targeting a Vietnamese woman.

Circumstances have previously emerged showing that the National Office of Investigation side sent guidelines for a separated investigation to the head of the violent crime unit at the Gwangju Police Agency, and the special investigation unit is reportedly questioning Senior Superintendent Lee, who was the direct supervisor of the violent crime unit head, about the command details at the time.

[Senior Superintendent Lee / Former Head of Criminal Division at Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency: (Did you ever order a separated investigation?) ......]

Suspicion has also been raised that then-Head Park Sung-ju unusually oversaw the investigation situation of Jang Yoon-ki himself.

Circumstances were recently captured during the investigation process in which Superintendent Choi, the head of the violent crime unit at the National Office of Investigation who was then serving as acting division head, frequently received reports on the progress of the Jang Yoon-ki investigation.

Superintendent Choi is the person who delivered the guideline for a separated investigation to the Gwangju Police Agency under the pretext of an "instruction from the head of the office," and it was understood that during the prosecution and police investigation, he stated along the lines of, "I reported to Head Park that a merged investigation was necessary, but the instruction came back to 'make sure the stalking and sexual assault case is not unnecessarily exposed.'"

Head Park explained that it meant "to ensure the sexual assault victim is not exposed," but the prosecution and police are concentrating their investigative capabilities, suspecting whether there might have been other intentions by the head of the National Office of Investigation, the number two figure in the police organization.

The prosecution and police are also reportedly reviewing the direction of handling for Senior Superintendent Kim, the "higher-up" who decided to apply the charge of simple murder rather than rape and murder against Jang Yoon-ki while serving as the head of the Gwangsan Police Station at the time.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
(Video Reported by Kim Hyung-soo KBC | Video Edited by Park Ji-in)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.