An arrest warrant was once again dismissed for the former head of the criminal division at Gwangsan Police Station in Gwangju, who is suspected of scaling back and covering up the initial investigation into the case of Jang Yun-gi, who is indicted on charges of murdering a high school girl.
On the 31st, Senior Judge Jeong Gyo-hyeong, who handles warrants at the Gwangju District Court, dismissed a pretrial detention warrant for Inspector A, who is suspected of abuse of authority to interfere with the exercise of rights and dereliction of duty.
Judge Jeong said, "Even after taking into account additional evidence secured since the previous dismissal decision, there is room for dispute regarding the criminal allegations," and added, "At this stage, it is difficult to recognize the necessity and reasonableness of detention."
Inspector A did not answer reporters' questions when appearing for a pretrial detention hearing in the morning. After completing the roughly 1 hour and 30 minute review, Inspector A said, "I am sorry to the deceased victim and the bereaved family," and added, "I explained faithfully at the substantive warrant review."
Inspector A's attorney said, "The statement of facts makes it seem as if Inspector A knew about the existence of the cable tie from the start, but that is not true," adding, "Only the on-site investigative team knew about the cable tie, and Inspector A was not briefed."
The attorney added, "The claim that the rape-murder charge was intentionally excluded is just one scenario," and said, "There was no problem with how the case was handled."
On the 21st, the court also dismissed the first arrest warrant for Inspector A, saying it was difficult to recognize grounds and reasonableness for detention given the degree to which the allegations were substantiated and the room for dispute.
The Special Investigation Team for Fact-Finding on the Jang Yun-gi Case of the Korean National Police Agency supplemented related statements and seized materials and reapplied for a pretrial detention warrant for Inspector A on the 28th.
While directing the investigation into the Jang Yun-gi case in May, Inspector A is suspected of scaling back and covering up the case by applying only the murder charge despite knowing circumstances under which a rape-murder charge could be applied. Inspector A is also suspected of dereliction of duty as the lead investigator, including ordering the sex crime case to be separated and investigated apart from the murder case.
Separately from the police special investigation team's probe, Inspector A has also been booked by the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office on suspicion of aiding in the destruction of evidence, among other charges.