Police Explanation Falls Flat as Suspect Admits to Rape-Murder

[Anchor]

Jang Yun-gi, who murdered a high school girl in Gwangju, has admitted in court that he committed the crime with the intent of sexual assault. It appears difficult for the police investigation team, which had previously claimed that applying the charge of rape-murder was difficult based solely on circumstantial evidence, to avoid punishment for a botched investigation.

Reporter An Huijae has the story.

[Reporter]

The police special investigation team summoned seven individuals, including officials from the Women and Juvenile Affairs Division of the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station, yesterday (July 13).

The questioning focused on why the team applied the charge of general murder instead of rape-murder, despite having captured evidence of stalking and sexual assault against foreign women during the investigation into Jang Yun-gi's case, and why they concluded there was no sexual motive behind the murder of the high school student.

The interrogation of the Gwangsan Police Station investigation team leader, Inspector A, who has already been detained, also continued for the fourth consecutive day.

The core of the investigation is to determine whether the team intentionally steered the case toward a lighter murder charge, rather than the rape-murder charge, which carries a minimum sentence of life imprisonment.

Regarding allegations that "cable ties were found in Jang's vehicle but there was an order to leave them alone" or that "there were opinions within the investigation team to apply the rape-murder charge," Inspector A reportedly explained that he had judged it "difficult to apply the rape-murder charge based on circumstantial evidence alone" while Jang remained silent.

The Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency also followed up with an explanation that "it is not easy to uncover sexual motives during the initial investigation process, which focuses on apprehension and searching for crime tools."

However, as Jang Yun-gi admitted to the rape-murder charges in court, the police's explanation has lost its credibility.

This effectively confirms that the investigation was botched, as they failed to uncover the intent for sexual assault during the initial investigation phase.

This is why there is a consensus that disciplinary action or punishment for the Gwangsan Police Station investigation team is inevitable.

Even within the police force, there is criticism that "evidence to prove sexual intent, such as a sex doll, had already been discovered," and that "criticism for at least a botched investigation is unavoidable."

The police special investigation team, which is investigating the allegations of a botched investigation, plans to continue its probe into whether the leadership was involved, even after referring Inspector A, whose detention period is nearing its end, to the prosecution.

(Video Editing: Shin Se-eun, Design: Kim Han-gil, Park Tae-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.