Former Gwangsan Police Chief Summoned Over 'Jang Yoon-gi Case'... Investigation Turns Toward National Office of Investigation

[Anchor]

The police investigation into allegations of botched police work in the Jang Yoon-gi case is expanding beyond the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station to reach the top of the National Office of Investigation. Circumstances are continuously coming to light showing that the Gwangsan Police Station handled a stalking report poorly just two days before Jang Yoon-gi murdered a high school girl.

Reporter Im Jihyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

The Korean National Police Agency's special investigation unit summoned and questioned Senior Superintendent Kim, the former chief of the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station who oversaw the initial investigation into the Jang Yoon-gi case, as a suspect yesterday morning.

Senior Superintendent Kim is suspected of exercising undue influence in the process of applying a charge of simple murder instead of murder with intent to commit rape against Jang Yoon-gi.

The special investigation unit is focusing on the handling of a stalking report filed by a Vietnamese woman, A, two days before Jang Yoon-gi murdered the late Lee Chae-won.

Previously, Jang Yoon-gi was suspected of breaking into woman A's studio apartment, sexually assaulting her, and subsequently stalking her.

When woman A reported the stalking at around 8:00 PM on May 3, officers from the Cheomdan District Unit of the Gwangsan Police Station who were dispatched to the scene only sent a single warning text message to Jang Yoon-gi and did not even book him.

After receiving the stalking warning message, Jang Yoon-gi threw his mobile phone's USIM chip into the Yeongsan River and later committed the murder.

Although this was crucial evidence supporting the charge of murder with intent to commit rape against Jang Yoon-gi, the Gwangsan Police Station assigned the case to the Women and Youth Division for a separate investigation.

The special investigation unit suspects that the leadership of the Gwangsan Police Station, including Senior Superintendent Kim, attempted to downplay the connection between the murder and the stalking crimes out of concern for disciplinary action resulting from the botched response to the stalking.

The allegation that the National Office of Investigation ordered the Gwangsan Police Station to split the investigation into Jang Yoon-gi is also a subject of investigation.

The special investigation unit summoned and questioned the head of the violent crime investigation section at the National Office of Investigation and two other employees from the same department as reference witnesses yesterday, though it is reported that the then Head of the National Office of Investigation, Park Sung-ju, is not yet among those being investigated.

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