'Remove the sex crime section from the report!' Adult toys, cable ties left out as evidence — the shocking reality of the Jang Yun-gi cover-up

The police investigator who led the initial inquiry into Gwangju murder suspect Jang Yun-gi, 23, has been detained and referred to prosecutors on charges of concealing key evidence and ordering that sex crime allegations be excluded from the investigation — even after his team had discovered items that could have proven a rape motive.

A special investigation unit of the Korean National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters held an interim briefing on Wednesday, saying the investigator responsible for uncovering the truth had instead hidden evidence of the crime.

The unit referred Officer A, 57, the violent crimes team leader at Gwangju's Gwangsan Police Station who oversaw the initial investigation, to prosecutors in detention on charges of evidence concealment, abuse of authority and dereliction of duty. The unit said A's judgment and directives were decisive in the decision to charge Jang with simple murder rather than rape-murder when the case was forwarded to prosecutors.

According to the unit, A is accused of failing to seize adult sex toys and cable ties found during searches of Jang's home and vehicle — items that could have established a rape motive.

The unit also found evidence that A had colluded with Jang's father, a serving police inspector surnamed Jang, exchanging 12 phone calls while the evidence remained unsecured. During that period, A allegedly directed team members to hand over the front-door passcode to Jang's home and the keys to his vehicle to the inspector, leaking confidential investigative information. The unit said it is also examining whether A received money or other benefits in exchange for providing investigative information to the inspector.

The unit further determined that A suppressed a team member's recommendation to examine whether a sexual motive had played a role in the crime and ordered that all sex-crime-related content be removed from the investigation report. A also refused to comply with a Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency directive to forward the omitted investigative records to prosecutors.

A denied the charges, saying he had judged the adult sex toys and other items not to be key evidence of the murder. The unit nonetheless referred him to prosecutors, citing statements from team members who said they had not seized the items and had omitted sex-crime-related findings from the report on A's orders.

The unit has also booked the then-chief of Gwangsan Police Station, a senior superintendent, and the head of its criminal investigations division, and is investigating whether either improperly intervened to suppress the Jang inquiry.

"While reviewing the facts with the investigative team assigned to the Jang Yun-gi case, we discovered problems in the investigative process — including evidence that was not seized and records that were not forwarded to prosecutors," the unit said. "We will do our utmost to improve the systems implicated by the various problems identified during this investigation and restore public trust."

The unit also offered a deep apology to the victim and her bereaved family "for the wounds that will be difficult to heal."