Traces Found on 'Spare Phone' Suggest Premeditated Murder of High School Student in Gwangju

Circumstantial evidence has emerged suggesting that Jang Yoon-gi, the perpetrator who murdered a high school girl in Gwangju, may have known the victim beforehand and committed the crime with premeditation.

The Special Investigation Unit of the National Office of Investigation stated that forensic analysis of a spare mobile phone seized at the time of Jang's arrest revealed traces indicating he may have known the victim prior to the incident. The unit is currently verifying the facts.

Jang was arrested and indicted on charges of attempting to sexually assault a student, identified as Lee, on a roadside in Wolgye-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, around 12:11 a.m. on May 5, and subsequently stabbing her to death when the assault failed.

Investigations revealed that Jang trailed Lee in his vehicle for 15 minutes immediately before committing the crime.

Although Jang initially claimed immediately after his arrest that he "saw a stranger, Lee, walking by and committed the crime," the police special investigation unit stated that while Lee did not know Jang, it is possible that Jang had been unilaterally aware of Lee.

However, the special investigation unit explained that it cannot disclose the specific nature of the evidence due to the risk of secondary victimization of the deceased student.

Previously, on May 3, Jang had received a warning text message from the police telling him to "stop stalking" while he was stalking a Vietnamese woman in her 20s whom he had sexually assaulted. Following this, he discarded his primary mobile phone and took a spare phone from his studio apartment.

This spare phone was seized immediately after his arrest. It has been determined that the Gwangsan Police Station investigation team became aware of traces suggesting the possibility of a prior acquaintance after reviewing the forensic results of the spare phone around May 7 to 8.

However, the special investigation unit stated that it appears the investigation team at the time failed to properly investigate this lead and forwarded the case to the prosecution without further action.

Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Lee Da-in | Graphics by Lee Soo-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.