Former National Office of Investigation Head Fires Back at Indictment Over Split Investigation

Former National Police Agency National Office of Investigation Head Park Sung-ju has strongly protested his indictment for allegedly directing a botched investigation into the Jang Yoon-ki case, calling the move "an unreasonable logic that defies common sense."

In an official statement released today (Sept. 2), Park stated, "I can never accept or acknowledge the logic that the National Office of Investigation, including myself, ordered a separate investigation to cover up the police force's inadequate response and evade public criticism."

Park argued, "The transferred investigative records from the police station clearly listed investigation matters regarding the motives and objectives of the crime that could not be fully proven within the detention period, highlighting the need for additional investigation," adding, "I merely issued normal and routine operational instructions to thoroughly investigate by division and maintain security so that not a single doubt remains about the case."

He further expressed "strong regret that an indictment was pushed through despite sufficient explanations during the prosecution's investigation process."

However, Park added, "I naturally feel a heavy sense of responsibility for the parts of the investigation process that were somewhat inappropriate and lacking," and conveyed, "I bow my head to offer my sincere regrets and condolences to the victims of the case and their bereaved families."

Earlier today, the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office indicted Park without detention on charges including abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights.

Park is accused of directing the detective division and the women and youth division to investigate Jang Yoon-ki's stalking and sexual assault case and a high school girl murder case separately back in May, despite repeated recommendations from the frontline investigative team.

The prosecution concluded that at a time when the police were facing criticism for their inadequate response to the Namyangju stalking murder case, Park ordered the split investigation to avoid further backlash, which ultimately disrupted efforts to uncover Jang Yoon-ki's rape and murder charges.

(Reported by Jung Da-eun, Video by Na Hong-hee, Graphics by Lee Su-min, Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.