Court Denies Arrest Warrant for Former Police Detective Chief Over 'Jang Yoon-gi Case' Investigation

An arrest warrant for a former detective chief of the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station, who was identified as responsible for the inadequate investigation into the Jang Yoon-gi case, has been denied.

Choi Yoon-young, a chief judge in charge of warrants at the Gwangju District Court, denied the pre-arrest warrant for the former detective chief, identified by his surname Park, on July 21. Park had been accused of abuse of power and dereliction of duty following a pre-arrest interrogation.

It is reported that the judge determined it was difficult to recognize the necessity for detention based on the evidence provided thus far.

Park is accused of providing inadequate investigative oversight while serving as the detective chief at the Gwangsan Police Station during the incident last May, in which Jang Yoon-gi murdered Lee Chae-won, a high school sophomore.

He is also charged with failing to fulfill his duties as the investigation lead by separating the stalking and sexual assault cases committed by Jang from the murder case and transferring them to a different department, rather than conducting a comprehensive investigation.

At the time, the police referred the case to the prosecution by applying charges of general murder, which carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison, instead of the charge of murder for the purpose of rape, which carries a minimum sentence of life imprisonment.

Former police officials who were in charge of the Jang Yoon-gi case claim that the investigation results were in accordance with the directives of the National Office of Investigation under the National Police Agency.

The Gwangju District Prosecutors Office and a special police investigation team are accelerating their efforts to uncover the truth behind the allegations of a botched investigation into the Jang Yoon-gi case, including conducting simultaneous raids on relevant departments of the National Office of Investigation starting this morning.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.