As suspicions of collusion emerged between Inspector Jang, the father of Jang Yun-gi and an active-duty police officer in the Gwangju area, and the investigation team in the so-called "Gwangju high school girl murder law" case, the Korean National Police Agency decided to form a "special investigation team."
The National Office of Investigation (NOI) said on the 6th that, to thoroughly clarify various suspicions raised during the investigation of the "Gwangju high school girl murder case," it had ordered the "dedicated investigation team" formed at the Gwangju Police Agency to be expanded and organized as the "special investigation team for fact-finding related to the Gwangju Gwangsan Station murder case."
Hong Jang-deuk, the Korean National Police Agency's director for investigation and human rights (senior superintendent), will lead the special investigation team, which will be expanded to a total of 27 members by adding investigators and others.
The National Office of Investigation (NOI) said the special investigation team will exclude the Gwangju agency's command line and conduct an independent and fair investigation, then report only the final results to the NOI commissioner. It added that it will conduct a thorough investigation into the entire investigation process, including allegations reported by the media, to ensure there is no shadow of doubt.
The police's move to expand and adjust the task force to a special investigation team less than a day after its launch appears to reflect the rapidly growing "police family cover-up" suspicion. In particular, distrust of police investigations is surfacing as discussions proceed on abolishing prosecutors' supplemental investigation authority.
Inspector A, who had led the Jang Yun-gi case investigation team, was urgently arrested on May 5 on suspicion of destroying evidence—a "cable tie"—during the search and seizure of Jang Yun-gi's sport utility vehicle (SUV).
During the on-site search, the investigation team found cable ties inside the car before the forensic unit arrived, but reportedly did not secure them as evidence. The cable ties, a key piece of evidence for Jang Yun-gi's rape and murder charge, remained only on video while the physical items disappeared.
There were also allegations that, at the outset of the investigation, police handed over major evidence—including a "damaged sex doll" from the SUV and Jang Yun-gi's studio—back to the family without preserving the physical items, and that they relayed to Jang Yun-gi's father the status of the request for an arrest warrant.
Hong Seok-gi, the new head of the National Office of Investigation (NOI), said at a regular press briefing that day, "We will do our utmost on this case and stake our fate on it."