[Anchor]

The police investigation into allegations of a botched probe regarding the Jang Yoon-gi case is increasingly pointing toward higher-ranking officials. The pre-arrest interrogation for the then-head of the detective division at Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station, who oversaw the case at the time, is scheduled for July 21. The police have also stated that they will respond strictly to secondary victimization directed at the victim.

Reporter Im Jihyeon has the story.

[Reporter]

The pre-arrest interrogation for Superintendent Park, the former head of the detective division at Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station, will be held at the Gwangju District Court on July 21.

Superintendent Park is accused of abuse of power, allegedly exerting influence in the process of referring Jang Yoon-gi to the prosecution on charges of general murder rather than rape and murder.

Superintendent Park was in the chain of command during the initial investigation of the Jang Yoon-gi case and is the superior of the investigation team leader who was previously arrested and referred to the prosecution.

The special investigation team suspects that, as Park held a rank between the investigation team leader and the police station chief, he may have received directives from the chief before issuing orders to the team leader.

It is reported that during recent police questioning, Superintendent Park stated that he did not lead the decision to apply the general murder charge.

Therefore, if an arrest warrant is issued for Superintendent Park, the investigation into potential intervention by higher-ups is expected to gain momentum.

Separately from the investigation into higher-level interference, the special investigation team announced that it would respond strictly to secondary victimization against the victim and the bereaved family.

During a briefing on the interim investigation results on July 15, the police mentioned circumstances suggesting that the investigation team at the time failed to properly identify the possibility that Jang Yoon-gi had known the victim unilaterally before the crime. Since then, baseless speculation directed at the victim and the bereaved family has spread, particularly on social media.

The special investigation team explained that it is taking measures to delete related comments and is conducting investigations into individuals who have posted content that crosses the line.

However, criticism is also emerging that the police provided the pretext for secondary victimization by prematurely announcing unverified information.

(Video Editing: Park Ji-in)