"Please remember our daughter not as 'Victim A in the Gwangju high school student murder case,' but as '17-year-old Lee Chae-won.'"
The parents of the late Lee Chae-won, 17, the victim of what has been called the "Gwangju high school student murder case," have publicly disclosed their daughter's name and face while pleading for severe punishment of the perpetrator.
Chae-won's parents released a portrait of their daughter on Monday and said, "After losing a child who dreamed of a profession that saves lives and loved helping others, our family's life has completely collapsed." They added, "We are issuing this statement in the hope of clearing Chae-won's grievance and ensuring no other victim suffers the same fate."
The bereaved family described the suspect, Jang Yoon-ki, 23, as "a criminal who deserves not the slightest sympathy" and stressed, "We hope the judiciary demonstrates that justice is alive through severe punishment." They added, "If an unjust reduction in sentence is made during the trial, it would be tantamount to a second murder of the deceased and the bereaved family." They called for the maximum legal sentence and urged citizens to join a petition campaign for severe punishment.
Chae-won's room remains frozen in time before the incident. Her school uniform hangs neatly on a hanger, and textbooks and school supplies sit on her desk just as she left them. Music she enjoyed listening to in life still plays from her tablet.
Her father, surnamed Lee, still cannot forget the day of the incident. When he received a call from the police and rushed to the hospital, he initially thought it was a simple traffic accident. He said he could not even imagine that his daughter had become the victim of a violent crime.
"Chae-won could not even close her eyes until her last moment," Lee said. "I still cannot sleep, thinking that as a parent, I could do nothing for her." He recalled his daughter, saying, "She was such a good child she didn't even go through adolescent rebellion. Not once did she ever get angry at her mom or dad."
Her mother, surnamed Choi, also said, "The only people who can speak out so this never happens again are her parents. The only thing we can do for our daughter is to make sure she is not forgotten."
◇Switched Target After Failing to Find Stalking Victim
Chae-won was killed at around 12:11 a.m. on the 5th of last month while walking on a sidewalk near a university in Wolgye-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, when Jang Yoon-ki, 23, attacked her with a weapon. A 17-year-old male high school student who ran to help after hearing Chae-won's screams was also stabbed and seriously injured.
The investigation found that Jang had been stalking a foreign female colleague, identified as A, before the incident. After A rejected his demand for a romantic relationship, Jang stalked her multiple times. He is also accused of confining A at her residence in Wolgye-dong, Gwangsan-gu, for more than 10 hours in the early morning of the 3rd and sexually assaulting her.
A reported a suspected stalking case to police after seeing Jang loitering near her home and then moved to another area.
However, despite a stalking warning text message from police, Jang wandered around the Cheomdan district for about 30 hours searching for A.
When he ultimately could not find A, an enraged Jang switched his target to Chae-won, who was on her way home. Police believe Jang then chose the entrance of an alley with little foot traffic and outside the range of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras as the scene of the crime, where he followed and killed Chae-won.
At the time of his arrest, Jang was carrying an additional unopened weapon in addition to the one used in the crime. Police determined the additional weapon had been prepared to kill A.
◇Prosecutors: "Conducting Supplementary Investigation Including Sexual Crimes and Stalking"
The Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency held a personal information disclosure review committee on the 14th of last month for Jang, who had been arrested on charges of murder and attempted murder, and disclosed his name, age, and photograph.
Subsequently, the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station recently referred Jang to prosecutors with additional charges including violation of the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (sexual assault), violation of the Stalking Punishment Act, and confinement.
The prosecution, which took over the case, said, "Given that this is a serious crime, we have extended the detention period and are continuing supplementary investigations, including identifying the motive for the crime, sexual offenses, stalking, and analysis of forensic results."
Meanwhile, Jang has reportedly been arguing that the crime was impulsive, repeatedly making statements during the investigation such as "Life was not enjoyable," "I decided to commit the crime while contemplating suicide," and "I wanted to take someone with me."
