Justice Minister: "Father of Gwangju High School Student Murderer Is a Police Officer... Difficult to Punish for Evidence Tampering"

Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho has stated that there is a need to review the special provisions for relatives after it was revealed that the father of Jang Yoon-gi, the perpetrator of the Gwangju high school student murder, was a serving police officer who destroyed evidence but avoided punishment due to legal exemptions for family members.

In a post on his Facebook page today (July 1), Minister Jeong stated, "It has been revealed that the father of Jang Yoon-gi, the perpetrator of the Gwangju female student stabbing murder case, destroyed evidence while serving as a police officer."

Minister Jeong explained, "During the prosecution's supplementary investigation, we confirmed the existence of evidence that had not been seized during the police investigation, which allowed us to uncover Jang's intent to commit a sex crime." He added, "We indicted him for charges including 'murder with intent to commit rape,' rather than the simple murder charge initially referred by the police."

While the minimum sentence for simple murder is five years in prison, murder with the intent to commit rape is punishable only by the death penalty or life imprisonment, carrying a much heavier sentence.

Minister Jeong also pointed out, "It is a difficult reality that we cannot immediately punish the father, who is a serving police officer, even though he destroyed critical evidence."

Article 155 of the Criminal Act stipulates punishment for those who destroy evidence related to another person's criminal case; however, it includes a 'special provision for relatives' that exempts family members from punishment if they commit the act for the sake of a relative.

Regarding this, Minister Jeong emphasized, "Last year, the 'family property crime exemption' (Chin-jok-sang-do-rye), which exempted punishment for property crimes such as theft and fraud among family members, was abolished to align with the changing times," adding, "We need to examine whether there are aspects of the special provisions for relatives that also need to be improved."

He added, "I will do my utmost until the end to ensure that a fair punishment is delivered for the unjust death of the late Lee Chae-won."

(Photo: Provided by the Ministry of Justice, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.