Attention is focusing on whether the crime could have been prevented and whether the initial response was appropriate after it was confirmed that a man in his 20s who killed a high school girl he did not know had been reported to police for stalking and assault two days before the crime.
According to police on the 7th, Jang, a 24-year-old who was arrested on charges including murder, was reported as a stalking perpetrator on the 3rd in Gwangsan District, Gwangju. The victim was a foreign woman who worked with Jang, and it was reported that, as Jang followed the victim—who was about to move—and demanded that she not leave, there was a scuffle and minor assault.
Although the victim later expressed an intention to file a complaint, she did not submit one immediately, so the case was closed at the scene and did not proceed to a formal investigation.
Jang was then arrested on the 5th near a university in Gwangju on suspicion of killing a teenage female student with a weapon and injuring another student. He reportedly told police that he had wandered the streets with a weapon before the crime.
Police plan to investigate any link between the stalking report and the crime, while also reviewing whether the on-site response at the time was appropriate.
Jang reportedly said regarding his motive that he decided to commit the crime while feeling pessimistic about life and contemplating an extreme choice.