CCTV footage shows patrol car turning away from blood-soaked suspect in Gyeongsan murder case

CCTV footage showing a police patrol car turning away after coming face-to-face with Jung Jae-hwan, 24, who allegedly killed a friend in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, and fled the scene naked and covered in blood, has stoked controversy.

According to Newsis, the patrol car encountered Jung at around 4:25 a.m. on Saturday, July 4 — the day of the incident — as he wandered the streets naked and drenched in blood.

Upon spotting the patrol car, Jung hesitated briefly, then waved at the officers before jogging away in the opposite direction. The officers appeared to begin stepping out of the vehicle but then shut the door and turned the car around to give chase.

Jung ran about 50 meters along a sidewalk before turning left at the end of the block. The patrol car, arriving a moment too late, turned right — the opposite direction from where Jung had fled. It remains unclear whether the officers got out of the vehicle at any point to pursue him on foot.

The victim's family expressed outrage, saying Jung had returned to the apartment building afterward, creating the risk of additional victims. "We cannot understand why the officers did not immediately get out of the car and subdue him when they came face-to-face with the perpetrator right there on the street," the family said.

A North Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency official told Newsis that the patrol car's right turn was not because officers failed to see the fleeing suspect, but was a tactical decision to cut off his anticipated escape route.

Jung is accused of stabbing a friend dozens of times with a bladed weapon at his apartment in Hayang-eup, Gyeongsan, at around 4 a.m. on July 4, killing him. The two had been drinking together at the time.

Immediately after the attack, Jung wandered the surrounding area — including a nearby convenience store — covered in blood before returning home, where he was arrested. During police questioning, he reportedly said he had been too drunk to remember what happened and did not provide a detailed account of the incident.

The victim's family has filed a complaint requesting that charges of mutilating a corpse be added against Jung, and police said they plan to investigate the matter as a separate case.