[Anchor]

We previously reported exclusively that a police officer destroyed key evidence related to the sex crimes of Jang Yun-gi, the suspect who caused the death of a high school girl in Gwangju. It has been additionally confirmed that the father, identified as Inspector Jang, worked at a patrol division under the same police station that handled his son's case until last year. It was also revealed that the police failed to take any action despite knowing early in the investigation that the suspect's father was a police officer.

Reporter Kim su-yun has the story.

[Reporter]

The Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station was responsible for the initial investigation into Jang Yun-gi, who killed the late Lee Chae-won last May.

The station conducted the primary investigation from the arrest of Jang Yun-gi to his referral to the prosecution.

However, SBS has confirmed that Inspector Jang, the father and active-duty police officer who disposed of the "real dolls"—key evidence related to his son's sex crimes—was previously stationed at the Gwangsan Police Station, which handled the investigation into his son.

It was found that Inspector Jang worked at a patrol division under the Gwangsan Police Station until March of last year.

Inspector Jang is currently assigned to a different patrol division in Gwangju, but he is currently on leave and has reportedly applied for a leave of absence starting in the middle of this month.

[Police Official: He hasn't come in since the incident. We heard that he is using his annual leave and then going on a leave of absence.]

After arresting Jang Yun-gi on the morning of May 5, the Gwangsan Police Station received a statement during questioning that "his father is a police officer."

Despite this, it is reported that the police did not conduct any further questioning or investigation beyond asking about the father's occupation, even though they were aware that the suspect resided in Gwangju.

Ultimately, Inspector Jang, who is also known to have had investigative experience prior to his patrol division assignment, destroyed evidence including the real dolls just three days after his son's crime and the day after his son was detained, yet the police were completely unaware of this fact.

In response, an official from the Gwangsan Police Station told SBS, "We conducted the investigation thoroughly, regardless of Inspector Jang," and added, "We did not see the need to physically seize the real dolls."

(Video reporting: Jung Gyeong-mun | Video editing: Shin Se-eun | Design: Choi Jin-hoe)