[Anchor]

It has been confirmed that during the investigation into the murder of a high school girl in Gwangju, the police returned the vehicle used by the suspect, Jang Yoon-gi, to his father—who is a serving police officer—just one day after the crime, without even seizing it. The police failed to secure the dashcam, a crucial piece of evidence to prove the crime. It was also revealed that after returning the car, the police even asked the father for the vehicle's location.

We begin our 8 O'Clock News today, July 4, with this exclusive report by reporter Jeon Yeonnam.

[Reporter]

On May 5, the day the murder of the high school student occurred, police conducted an emergency search of the SUV used by Jang Yoon-gi when they arrested him.

However, SBS has confirmed that on May 6, the day after the crime, the police returned the vehicle to Jang's father, who is currently serving as a police officer.

The police handed the vehicle back to the family just one day later, without even seizing the tools used by Jang to stalk the victim, the late Lee Chae-won, before murdering her.

Later, while speaking with the father, who holds the rank of inspector, the investigation team asked for the location of the vehicle, ostensibly to check the dashcam.

Regarding why the vehicle was not seized, the police explained that they determined the car had no direct connection to the crime and that there was no need to seize it because they could not find the dashcam's SD card.

It was also confirmed that in the search and seizure report written at the time, the police noted, "It was confirmed that there was no evidence to seize, so no seizure was made."

However, through a follow-up search and seizure, the prosecution discovered a dashcam previously used by Jang in the trunk of the vehicle and secured audio of Jang related to a sex crime.

Furthermore, during the search of Jang's residence, the police only took two photos of two real dolls along with footage collected for evidence. It was later revealed that they did not even include records related to the real dolls in the arrest warrant application before transferring the case to the prosecution.

Video by Won Hyung-hee