Police are currently investigating after discovering signs suggesting that Jang Yun-gi, who has claimed the crime was accidental, knew the victim, the late Lee Chae-won (16), even before the crime.
The Special Investigation Team of the National Office of Investigation (NOI) under the Korean National Police Agency said at an interim briefing on the 15th held at the Gwangju Police Agency that it had identified indications suggesting that Jang Yun-gi had unilaterally recognized the victim before the crime.
The Special Investigation Team explained that these indications were found on a phone (a device without service) seized when Jang Yun-gi was apprehended. However, it did not disclose specifics out of concern for secondary victimization.
An official with the Special Investigation Team said, "Ms. Lee did not know Jang Yun-gi, but there are signs that can be seen as evidence Jang Yun-gi targeted Ms. Lee in a premeditated manner."
Police are also looking into why the investigative team at Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station, which handled the case at the time, recognized these indications early on but did not investigate them.
Jang Yun-gi had maintained in police questioning that the crime was accidental, but at the second hearing on the 13th, he admitted the crime was for the purpose of a sex offense. On May 14, when he was referred to prosecutors, he also told reporters that he "did not know she was a high school girl," denying allegations of a premeditated crime.