First Court Hearing for Two Police Officers Who Leaked Investigation Secrets in Jang Yoon-ki Case
The first trial of two serving police officers accused of leaking investigation information in the Jang Yoon-ki case and helping destroy evidence opens on the 14th. According to the legal community, Judge Lee Seung-yeon of Gwangju District Court's Criminal Division 12 (solo judge panel) will preside over the first hearing that afternoon for Inspector A (57), former violent crimes team leader, and Sergeant B (41) of the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station's criminal division, who have been indicted on charges of disclosing official secrets (leaking secrets learned in the course of duty) and abetting the destruction or concealment of evidence.
Inspector A and others are accused of conspiring in May to return the vehicle containing the cable tie, a key piece of evidence, to Jang Yoon-ki's father. They are also accused of helping the father personally dispose of the sex doll found in Jang's self-owned studio apartment. Inspector A additionally faces charges of omitting footage of the cable tie, filmed during a search and seizure of the SUV, from documents submitted to prosecutors and ordering an investigation team member to delete it.
Sergeant B's charges are separate. He is accused of telling Jang's father specific details of the investigation's progress, including whether Jang admitted to the crime, plans to seek an arrest warrant, when the confiscated backup mobile phone would be returned, and plans for searches in separate cases. B is known to have worked with Jang's father at the same police substation from February 2024 to March of last year.
Before the indictment, Inspector A said through his attorney, "I believe the criticism of the shoddy investigation is entirely of my own making." He added, "I could have sent the evidence omitted from the submitted documents, but I missed the opportunity out of fear of disciplinary action or dishonorable discharge."
Jang Yoon-ki is on trial, indicted in custody, on charges of stabbing to death 16-year-old high school student Lee Chae-won with a weapon on a road near a university in Wolgye-dong, Gwangsan District, Gwangju, in the early hours of May 5, and also seriously injuring a 17-year-old male high school student who rushed to help upon hearing the screams. It was confirmed shortly after the incident that Jang's father is a serving police officer.
