Gwangju Killer Admits Sexual Assault Motive After Dashcam, Cable Ties Emerge

Jang Yoon-gi, 23, who killed a female high school student in Gwangju, admitted in court for the first time that he committed the crime with a sexual assault motive, two months after the incident. Although he had consistently claimed the crime was accidental during the investigation stage, he changed his position after prosecutors secured key evidence related to sexual assault through supplementary investigation. As the case—which nearly ended as an ordinary murder case amid suspicions of shoddy and concealed police investigation—was overturned by the prosecution's investigation, calls to retain supplementary investigation authority are growing.

At the second hearing held on the 13th before the 13th Criminal Division of the Gwangju District Court (presided over by Chief Judge Lee Jung-ho), Jang's court-appointed defense attorney stated regarding the charge of murder with rape, "We admit all the charges." When the presiding judge asked Jang whether he agreed with his attorney's opinion, Jang also answered, "Yes." The court decided to continue witness examination at 10 a.m. on the 27th of this month.

This is the first time Jang has admitted to murder with intent to rape since his arrest on May 5. He had until then claimed the crime was accidental, saying, "I decided to commit suicide" and "I tried to take someone with me." At the first hearing, he reserved his position on the sexual assault motive on the grounds that he had not been able to review the vehicle dashcam footage secured by prosecutors during the supplementary investigation. Even in the letter of apology submitted on the 7th of this month, he only expressed apologies to the victim and the bereaved family, without mentioning any sexual assault motive.

The legal community sees Jang as having changed his position after prosecutors secured key evidence. Prosecutors revealed that on the day of the crime, Jang parked his sport utility vehicle (SUV) in a secluded area, left the rear passenger-side door open, and subdued the victim from behind. They also secured the victim's bloodstain left during the process of closing the door, as well as cable ties presumed to have been prepared to bind the victim. On the 10th of this month, after reviewing the dashcam footage with his attorney, Jang submitted a statement to the court acknowledging his sexual assault motive.

On this day, prosecutors announced they would request as additional evidence the on-site forensic footage of the vehicle where the cable ties were found, as well as a forensic report related to a damaged sex doll found in Jang's studio apartment. Some evidence examination, including footage capturing the crime scene, was conducted behind closed doors due to the brutality of the content and protection of the victim's privacy.

The bereaved family criticized Jang's change of attitude as a "trick to reduce his sentence." Kim Moon-seok, the victim's attorney, said immediately after the trial, "His admission of the crime's motive appears to be an intention to show a repentant attitude to reduce his sentence," adding, "It is a judgment made in consideration of the situation where additional evidence has emerged and the investigation has expanded to those around him." The bereaved family and civic groups urged the court to hand down a death sentence.

In the wake of the Jang Yoon-gi case, calls to retain supplementary investigation authority are also growing. The previous day, legal figures including former Minister of Government Legislation Lee Seok-yeon expressed opposition to the abolition, saying that fully abolishing the prosecution's supplementary investigation authority could eliminate the mechanism to correct shoddy investigations. The Supreme Court also put the brakes on the unilateral move toward abolition, saying supplementary measures were needed.

The investigation into suspicions of shoddy and concealed police investigation is expanding beyond the investigation working staff to the command chain. The Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office on this day summoned Superintendent A, former head of the criminal division at Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station, as a suspect for questioning on charges of destruction of evidence, aiding destruction of evidence, and disclosure of official secrets. This is the first time the criminal division head who directed the case investigation team has been questioned by prosecutors as a suspect. Prosecutors are examining whether Jang's father, an active-duty police officer, colluded with the investigation team in the process of destroying evidence to conceal his son's crime.

The police special investigation unit has also launched an investigation into seven people, including the arrested Gwangsan Police Station investigation team leader and team members, the Gwangju Police Agency criminal division head, and an official from the Gwangsan Police Station women and juveniles division. As they have secured statements indicating that the then-Gwangsan Police Station chief blocked the application of the charge of murder with intent to rape, whether the police command chain was involved in downplaying the case or condoned it is emerging as the key issue in the investigation.