Investigation into Botched Probe Expands to Higher-Ups... "Strict Response to Secondary Victimization"

[Anchor]

The police investigation into allegations of a botched probe in the Jang Yun-gi case is increasingly pointing toward higher-ranking officials. The pre-arrest interrogation for the then-head of the detective division at Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station, who oversaw the case at the time, is scheduled for the 21st. The police have also stated they will respond strictly to secondary victimization against the victim.

Reporter Im Jihyeon has the story.

[Reporter]

The pre-arrest interrogation for Superintendent Park, the former head of the detective division at Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station, will be held at the Gwangju District Court on the 21st.

Superintendent Park is accused of abuse of power for allegedly exerting influence during the process of referring Jang Yun-gi to the prosecution on charges of general murder rather than rape and murder.

Superintendent Park was in the chain of command during the initial investigation of the Jang Yun-gi case and is the superior of the investigation team leader who was previously referred to the prosecution under arrest.

The special investigation team suspects that, given Superintendent Park’s rank between the investigation team leader and the police station chief, he may have received directives from the chief before instructing the team leader.

It is reported that during recent police questioning, Superintendent Park stated that he did not lead the decision to apply the general murder charge.

Therefore, if an arrest warrant is issued for Superintendent Park, the investigation into potential intervention by higher-ups is expected to gain momentum.

Separately from the probe into higher-level interference, the special investigation team announced it would take strict action against secondary victimization targeting the victim and the bereaved family.

During a briefing on interim investigation results on the 15th, the police mentioned circumstances suggesting the investigation team at the time failed to properly identify the possibility that Jang Yun-gi had known the victim unilaterally before the crime. Following this, baseless speculation regarding the victim and the family spread, particularly on social media.

The special investigation team explained that they are taking measures to delete related comments and are investigating individuals who posted content that crossed the line.

However, there is also criticism that the police provided the pretext for secondary victimization by prematurely announcing unverified information.

(Video Editing: Park Ji-in)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.