Regarding the allegation that Inspector Jang, a serving police officer and father of "Gwangju high school girl killer" Jang Yun-gi, destroyed evidence, the Korean National Police Agency said on the 7th that, unlike criminal punishment, disciplinary action is possible.
The Korean National Police Agency said, "Even if someone is excluded from criminal punishment under the kinship special provision of the Criminal Act, if an internal affairs investigation confirms misconduct, disciplinary action will be taken under relevant laws and regulations, including the State Public Officials Act and the Police Officials Disciplinary Decree."
Article 155 of the Criminal Act stipulates punishment for destroying evidence related to another person's criminal case. However, when a relative, such as a spouse or a lineal family member, commits the act for the family, the "kinship special provision" is applied to exempt criminal punishment.
Inspector Jang is suspected of receiving from Inspector A, the lead investigator, the contents of the arrest warrant application and the password to the studio apartment's front door, and then disposing of items including an adult product (a sex doll), one of the key pieces of physical evidence in the Jang Yun-gi case.
The Korean National Police Agency also said, "We will closely analyze the various problems identified in the investigation of this Jang Yun-gi case, including poor response and collusion," and added, "We will review additional measures to enhance transparency in handling cases involving police officers' relatives."
As part of that, it decided to operate the "ban on case inquiries" system more strictly. Under this system, if a police officer inquires about an ongoing case with the officer in charge or exerts influence, disciplinary and other actions are imposed.
The Korean National Police Agency National Office of Investigation (NOI) formed a "special investigation team to uncover the truth related to the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station murder case" and launched an investigation. The Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office's dedicated investigation team is also conducting searches and seizures on the Gwangsan Police Station and Inspector Jang's residence on the same day.