Police official arrested for alleged evidence tampering tied to Gwangju murder case

The Gwangju Police Agency on Monday arrested a police inspector on suspicion of tampering with evidence during an investigation into the murder of a high school girl on a street in Gwangju.

The arrested inspector led the investigation into the case involving 23-year-old suspect Jang Yun-gi, who is accused of killing an unacquainted high schooler in Gwangju on May 5.

The inspector, from Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station, is accused of destroying evidence while undertaking a search and seizure of Jang’s SUV immediately after the killing.

Investigators found that police handed key evidence — including the SUV allegedly used in the crime and a damaged life-size sex doll recovered from Jang's residence — to Jang's father, a serving mid-ranking police officer, without preserving it as evidence.

Three days after the killing, on May 8, Jang's father cleaned out his son's apartment by cutting up a life-size sex doll and discarding it. He also burned some of his son's belongings, including an older mobile device.

As Korea's Criminal Act exempts close relatives from prosecution for destroying evidence on behalf of a family member, Jang's father is unlikely to be charged with destruction of evidence.

The Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency has formed a 22-member dedicated probe team to examine allegations of collusion between Jang's father and the officers who handled the case.

The agency, however, is itself under inspection by the National Office of Investigation within the National Police Agency over its handling of the case.

Since Friday, the National Police Agency has been reviewing the chain of command at the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency, as well as the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station, which led the investigation, and the Gwangju Seobu Police Station, where Jang's father is assigned.

BY CHO MUN-GYU [[email protected]]