The police announcement suggesting that "Jeonnam Gwangju high school girl murderer" Jang Yun-gi, 23, had unilaterally known the victim before the crime has been found to be untrue.
The Korean National Police Agency National Office of Investigation (NOI) "Jang Yun-gi case fact-finding special investigation team" said on the 23rd, "We reached the conclusion that Jang Yun-gi did not have an acquaintance relationship with the victim before the crime."
At the interim briefing on the 15th, the special team announced that, based on digital forensics of a deactivated phone Jang used in the past, it had found indications that he might have known the late Lee Chae-won unilaterally as the victim, but it reversed that in about a week.
The special team said, "We investigated the matter from multiple angles, including executing a search and seizure warrant related to the indication, and reached the conclusion that Jang Yun-gi did not have an acquaintance relationship with the victim before the crime."
It added, "The special investigation team will continue to approach the investigation prudently and transparently," and said, "We again express our apologies to the victim's family for the shortcomings in the investigation. We will continue to communicate closely and conduct the investigation prudently and transparently."