Prosecution reveals perpetrator's original intent was rape, not random murder

Jang Yun-gi, who murdered a high school student he didn't know on the street, originally intended to kidnap and sexually assault her, it was revealed.

The prosecution, which clarified the motive behind the crime that could have been mistaken for a 'random' or 'venting' type of offense, has brought Jang Yun-gi to trial.

The Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office's Criminal Division 3 (Chief Prosecutor Kim Jin-hee) announced on the 2nd that Jang Yun-gi was arrested and indicted on charges including murder during the commission of rape, under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Specific Crimes.

Jang Yun-gi is accused of murdering a second-year high school student on a deserted pedestrian path in Wolgye-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, around 0:10 AM on April 5th.

After receiving Jang Yun-gi from the police, the prosecution extended his detention period and conducted supplementary investigations, concluding that he had planned to drag the victim to a secluded location and sexually assault her.

Prosecutors determined this based on evidence such as Jang's attempt to subdue the victim from behind and drag her towards his vehicle, and the consistency of his methods with the sexual assault he committed against a foreign female colleague, A (20s, Vietnamese).

Two days before the high school student's murder, Jang Yun-gi broke into A's home, subdued her in a similar manner, sexually assaulted her, and held her captive for 13 hours, inflicting injuries that required approximately three weeks of treatment.

Jang Yun-gi committed these acts while unilaterally expressing interest in A and repeatedly contacting her.

Subsequently, Jang Yun-gi, who intended to find and kill A for reporting him as a stalker, roamed the streets and happened to encounter the high school student, whom he then followed for about 15 minutes.

Jang Yun-gi, who had intended to kidnap the high school student, drag her to a secluded place, and sexually assault her, killed her with a knife when she strongly resisted.

He also wielded a knife at a second-year male high school student who came to help after hearing the victim's screams while passing by.

At this time, Jang Yun-gi used a false pretense of 'Please call 119' to divert the male student's attention to his mobile phone before committing the crime.

While the main criminal facts disclosed by the prosecution today did not significantly differ from the police investigation, Jang Yun-gi's motive for the crime, including kidnapping and sexual assault, which he had tried to conceal, was revealed through the prosecution's supplementary investigation.

In the previous police investigation, Jang Yun-gi repeatedly claimed it was an impulsive act, stating, 'Life was not fun. I decided to commit the crime while contemplating suicide, and I intended to take someone with me.'

On the day of the incident, police discovered a realistic doll (a human-shaped adult toy) in Jang Yun-gi's residence that had been damaged with a sharp object on its chest and neck and cut into several pieces. While focusing their interrogation on the connection to sexual offenses, police could not overturn Jang's claims.

The police concluded that Jang Yun-gi murdered the high school student as a target for venting his frustration after being rejected by A and handed the case over to the prosecution.

For the ten days of police investigation, the charges applied to Jang Yun-gi were general murder under the Criminal Act.

The charge of murder during the commission of rape, newly applied by the prosecution, is punishable only by death or life imprisonment. General murder carries a minimum sentence of five years imprisonment.

The indictment also includes charges that Jang Yun-gi secretly filmed a middle school student's thigh and other body parts a total of seven times between June and July of last year while serving as a social worker at a local children's center.

Charges such as rape causing injury, attempted murder, confinement, and violation of the Stalking Punishment Act, committed against A before murdering the high school student, were also included in the trial.

The prosecution plans to ensure the participation rights of the high school student's bereaved family and other victims during the trial proceedings.

Since the incident, the bereaved family has received support for psychological treatment, funeral expenses, and living expenses, while other victims have received support for treatment costs and crime victim compensation.

The bereaved family, who requested the prosecution to 'not let the victim be forgotten,' provided the name and portrait of Lee Chae-won (17), who was murdered by Jang Yun-gi, to the media the previous day.

The bereaved family issued a statement today, stating, 'We, the parents who had our daughter's future stolen in an instant, must live our lives in the hellish pain of that day. We earnestly ask that the most severe punishment allowed by law be imposed so that our child's injustice can be somewhat resolved.'

Minister of Justice Jeong Seong-ho stated on Facebook today, 'Today, the perpetrator Jang Yun-gi in the 'Gwangju High School Student Stabbing Murder Case' was brought to justice.' He emphasized, 'It is not a simple murder charge as initially reported, but a charge of 'murder during the commission of rape under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Specific Crimes,' which was revealed through a comprehensive supplementary investigation by the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office team after being transferred from the police.'

The prosecution is emphasizing the importance of supplementary investigations ahead of the abolition of its direct investigative authority in October.

According to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, out of 55,174 cases disposed of by 12 prosecution offices nationwide in March-April this year, 25,152 cases (45.6%) underwent supplementary investigation by the prosecution. On a monthly basis, it was 47% in March and 44.3% in April.

This is the first time the prosecution has disclosed its supplementary investigation rate.

This statistic was compiled targeting prosecution offices that ranked first and second in handling cases transferred from the police under the jurisdiction of six High Prosecutors' Offices last year. It targeted cases transferred from the police and special judicial police, cases transferred due to objections after no-transfer decisions, and cases transferred due to requests for reinvestigation by prosecutors.