A man in his 20s who killed a high school girl in an attempted sexual assault poses a high risk of reoffending once he returns to society, experts have warned. In a broadcast that analyzed the case in depth, experts said the crime was not impulsive but the result of a meticulously planned stalking crime whose target had shifted.
According to police, on May 5, Lee Chae-won, then 16, was fatally stabbed on a secluded walkway during her way to school in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju. Police investigation revealed the assailant was Jang Yoon-ki, 23, who had already been reported for stalking, sexually assaulting and confining a Vietnamese woman in her 20s who had been his part-time work colleague.
After the report, Jang wandered around searching for the victim and shifted his target for venting his anger to Lee, who was returning home alone, the investigation found.
Prosecutors determined that the circumstances in which Jang subdued Lee from behind and attempted to drag her to a vehicle matched the methods used in the earlier sexual assault case. They applied charges of murder for the purpose of rape, which carry only the death penalty or life imprisonment, rather than simple murder, which carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison.
Jang has denied the charges, claiming the crime was impulsive. During the investigation, it emerged that his father, a police official, had disposed of damaged adult products and a mobile phone that were in Jang's rented room, sparking controversy over a botched investigation.
On SBS's "Unanswered Questions," which covered the case, experts saw a high likelihood that Jang would reoffend.
Cho Eun-kyung, a professor of police administration at Dongguk University, said in the broadcast that when Jang stood before reporters after his arrest, he showed no sign of remorse and instead appeared to have considerable unresolved anger remaining. Cho noted there was a possibility Jang was still targeting the first victim.
Park Ji-sun, a professor of social psychology at Sookmyung Women's University, analyzed that the killing of Lee was the result of a meticulous plan directed at the woman he had been stalking being transferred to another target. The fact that such excessive aggression appeared toward a stranger is a typical case of displaced aggression, in which he selected a substitute target and committed the crime after failing to find his original target, she explained.
Regarding washing his clothes and getting a haircut after the crime, Jang claimed he simply wanted to die looking neat, but Park saw it as more likely that he had gotten a haircut in advance out of awareness that his identity might be disclosed.
Park also analyzed that even if Jang avoids life imprisonment and receives a 20- to 30-year sentence, he would only be in his 40s or 50s upon release, and appears to believe it is worth contesting in court. In fact, in an opinion statement submitted ahead of his first trial, Jang claimed the charge of murder for the purpose of rape was unfair, and in a polygraph test he answered "no" when asked whether he had tried to drag Lee into a car, but this was found to be a lie.
Lee's legal representative disclosed at trial that Jang had written in his opinion statement that he would obtain certifications during his prison life, and criticized him, saying the victim's time stopped at 16 while the perpetrator is planning his future.
