Arrest Warrant Dismissed Again for Former Police Division Chief in 'Jang Yoon-gi Case'

An arrest warrant re-requested by police for the former criminal investigation division chief of the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station, who oversaw the investigation of the "Jang Yoon-gi case" on the front lines, has been dismissed once again.

Jeong Gyo-hyung, the senior judge dedicated to warrants at the Gwangju District Court, held a pre-trial detention hearing today (the 31st) for Senior Superintendent A of the Gwangju Provincial Police Agency, who faces charges of abuse of authority and dereliction of duty, and dismissed the arrest warrant requested by the National Police Agency's special investigation team on the "fact-finding of the Jang Yoon-gi case."

Judge Jeong stated the reason for the dismissal, saying, "Even when comprehensively reviewing the additional evidence secured since the previous decision to dismiss the arrest warrant, there is still room for legal contention regarding the criminal charges."

"It is difficult to recognize the necessity and reasonableness of detention at this stage."

This marks the second dismissal of an arrest warrant for Senior Superintendent A, following the first on the 21st, after the special investigation team re-applied for the warrant with reinforced materials and statements under the same charges.

Senior Superintendent A is accused of conducting a shoddy investigation as the criminal investigation division chief of the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station, which handled the case last May when Jang Yoon-gi (23) murdered a 16-year-old high school sophomore.

At the time, the police forwarded Jang Yoon-gi to the prosecution on charges of "simple murder," which carries a minimum sentence of 5 years in prison, instead of "murder with intent to commit rape," which is punishable by at least life imprisonment.

Senior Superintendent A is also suspected of dereliction of duty as a person in charge of the investigation, such as failing to investigate separate related crimes of "stalking and sexual assault" linked to Jang Yoon-gi's murder collectively, instead separating them and handing them over to other departments.

During the two detention hearings, Senior Superintendent A's legal counsel claimed to reporters, "Based on five clues including a damaged real doll, we also reviewed the charge of murder with intent to commit rape for Jang Yoon-gi. The relevant investigation details were attached as an additional report to the records sent to the prosecution."

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