Family urges probe into police handling, maximum sentence in Gwangju murder case

The family of the 17-year-old high school student killed in May called for a fresh investigation into allegations of a police cover-up and mishandling of the case on Monday, while urging the court to impose the maximum sentence on the suspect, Jang Yun-gi.

Lee Chae-won's family and civic groups held a news conference outside the Gwangju District Court before the second trial hearing for Jang, who is charged with murder in the course of rape.

“If the trial proceeds based on an investigation that was manipulated and covered up, how can my daughter's injustice ever be revealed?” Lee's mother said. “I want to ask the police whether protecting the organization was more important than uncovering the truth.”

She also questioned whether the investigation would have been handled the same way “if the victim had been the daughter of a police officer.”

“The law should apply equally to everyone,” she said. “It should not be different because someone is from a police family, nor should ordinary citizens receive less protection. I ask that all the allegations be investigated without exception and that the results be explained transparently to the public and the bereaved family.”

Lee's mother also said her daughter's clothing had been discarded without her family's consent and that the family had been told they did not know where her shoes were.

“If even her belongings were treated this way, I'm afraid to think how much of the truth remains hidden,” she said.

Calling for the harshest punishment, she urged the court to sentence Jang to death.

“When I think about how the perpetrator, who was never properly investigated, must have laughed to himself all this time, my blood boils,” she said. “Please impose the heaviest punishment the law allows.”

The civic groups that co-hosted the news conference also called for a comprehensive review of the investigation.

“As public confidence in the fairness and objectivity of the investigation has been shaken, the case must be thoroughly reexamined based on the newly uncovered facts,” they said.

Earlier Monday, Jang admitted during his second trial hearing that he had intended to rape the victim before killing her, acknowledging all the charges brought by prosecutors.

He is accused of attempting to abduct Lee with the intent to rape her before fatally stabbing her on a secluded pedestrian path in Gwangju on May 5. He also faces charges of attacking a high school student who tried to help the victim and stalking and sexually assaulting a former co-worker.

Jang's murder trial has also spurred investigations into the Korean police force, after his father, who is also a police officer, and is suspected of intervening in the investigation and tampering with the crucial evidence.

An arrest warrant for a police officer who serves as the head of the investigation team at Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station was requested on Tuesday on charges of leaking investigative information and helping with the destruction of evidence.

Multiple police officers have also come under investigation over allegations that they failed to secure key evidence and leaked confidential investigative information to Jang's father, a serving police officer. Prosecutors later accused Jang's father of destroying a life-size sex doll that investigators believe was key evidence in the case.

BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]