(Jeonnam Gwangju = Yonhap News) Reporter Jeong Hoe-seong = The father-in-law (in his 50s) of high school girl murderer Jang Yoon-gi, a police inspector, appeared as a witness at the ‘trial of a police officer who investigated poorly’ held at the Gwangju District Court on the 28th and said, “I couldn’t understand that a good son could have done such a thing.”
Inspector Jang, who is a serving police officer and caused controversy by discarding the real doll that was the main evidence of his son Jang Yoon-ki's crime, said this to reporters as he left the courthouse after the trial.
When asked whether he felt sorry for the victim, Lee Chae-won, Inspector Jang responded, "I am sorry," and when asked if he knew how much the victim's family suffered, he answered, "I know."
When asked if he knew whether his son had sexual problems, he responded "no."
When asked whether he was aware in advance that even if evidence of the crime committed by Jang Yoon-gi was destroyed, he would not be punished under the 'relative special provision', he said, "I was not in my right mind at that time."
Regarding the cable tie, which was pointed out as a binding tool, he said, "I didn't even think about that at the time," and walked out of the courthouse, covering his face with a black hat and mask.
Prior to this, Inspector Jang continued to give similar answers throughout the witness examination that lasted about an hour in court.
Inspector Jang, who confirmed what he had said during a past prosecutorial investigation that when he first discovered the damaged Real Doll in his son's room, 'I thought he was crazy for a moment,' stated in court, "I never thought about distorted gender perception."
The reason for putting the real dolls in two large garbage bags and disposing them in different areas was, "I was concerned that if YouTubers etc. came and saw them, they would exaggerate the contents with false information."
He claimed that the reason he searched for the location of the vehicle that was the tool of the crime was "because I thought there was a possibility that an acquaintance may have committed the crime in my son's car."
Regarding the reason why he quickly organized his son's room, he answered, "I decided to organize the house because I did not want to come to Gwangju again."
At the trial on this day, a member of the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station's violent crime team, who suggested applying rape and murder charges in the early stages of the Jang Yoon-gi case investigation, and a crime analyst (profiler) from the Gwangju Police Agency who suggested the need for an investigation for sexual crimes also attended as witnesses.
The witnesses stated in court that they presented this opinion based on circumstances such as Jang Yoon-ki's attempt to subdue and drag the high school girl away rather than immediately killing her, and unreliable statements.
The court decided to hold a follow-up trial on the 4th of next month to continue examining witnesses against Gwangsan Police Station's violent team leader, Inspector Park (57, arrested), and team member Sergeant Kim (41), who were indicted on charges of aiding and abetting the destruction of evidence.
Inspector Park and others were indicted on charges of conspiring to return to Inspector Jang an SUV containing cable ties, a key piece of evidence, during the investigation of Jang Yoon-ki's murder of a high school girl last May.
Additionally, during a search and seizure of Jang Yoon-ki's room, he was accused of neglecting two badly damaged real dolls and helping Inspector Jang dispose of them.
Inspector Park's indictment also included the charge of ordering his subordinates to delete the cable tie video taken during the search and seizure of the SUV rather than sending it to the prosecution.
It was found that Sergeant Kim informed Inspector Jang, who was his colleague while working at the district headquarters, on several occasions about the status of the investigation, including his plan to apply for an arrest warrant, whether he admitted to the crime, and the fact that his cell phone system was confiscated.
