Minister Jung Sung-ho of the Ministry of Justice said on the 2nd that regarding the prosecution's detention and indictment of Jang Yoon-gi (23) in the "Gwangju high school girl murder," "The Ministry of Justice will punish with zero tolerance the vicious crimes targeting socially vulnerable people such as teenagers and women."
The Minister wrote on Facebook the same day, "We will do our utmost to prevent such criminals from receiving unjust sentence reductions during trial with excuses such as diminished capacity or fake letters of remorse," adding this.
The Minister said, "It is not the initially reported charge of 'simple murder' of the late Lee Chae-won, 17, but the charge of 'murder by rape, etc., under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes,' revealed through a full supplementary investigation by the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office investigation team after the police referral, with the purpose of committing a sex crime," adding, "We also indicted him on charges of committing sexual violence and stalking crimes against a female coworker." She then said, "It is an appalling and shocking crime."
Police applied the general murder charge to Jang Yoon-gi and referred the case to the prosecution. Following a supplementary investigation, prosecutors concluded that Jang murdered Lee Chae-won (17), a second-year high school student, with the purpose of rape, and changed the charge to violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (murder by rape, etc.) and indicted him under detention.
The murder by rape, etc., charge applied by prosecutors is punishable only by death or life imprisonment. The statutory penalty for general murder is death, life imprisonment, or at least five years in prison.
Lee's bereaved family recently revealed their daughter's name and face and appealed for a severe punishment. The family asked that she be remembered not as the "victim of the high school student murder case" but as "Lee Chae-won," and asked that the maximum sentence allowed by law be imposed so that the same tragedy is never repeated.
The Minister said, "As a father of two daughters myself, it is hard even to fathom the grief of the parents who lost their beloved daughter overnight and are tearfully calling for stern punishment of the perpetrator," adding, "We will also do our best to provide psychological healing for the bereaved family's swift return to daily life and to prepare measures to prevent crime and its recurrence."
She added, "I also pay respect to the male student who bravely stepped in to help Chae-won and was seriously injured," noting, "a righteous conscience that our society must remember." The student heard Lee's scream and ran to the crime scene, where Jang Yoon-gi stabbed the left side of his neck with a weapon.
The Minister said, "Once again, I pray for the repose of Lee Chae-won and offer condolences to the bereaved family and to Chae-won's friends, who must be going through great shock and sorrow," adding, "The Ministry of Justice will do its part to make Korea a country where the people are safe from crime."
Announcing the investigation results that day, the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office said, "Going forward, the dedicated investigation team will handle the trial to ensure the defendant receives 'a heavy sentence commensurate with the crime.'"
It also said, "The prosecution will continue to discover the substantive truth through proactive supplementary investigations and will respond swiftly and sternly to serious crimes that threaten the public's peaceful daily life."