Union calls for release of transfer opinion, investigation reports and account of how supplementary probe was initiated
'Do not use the Jang Yun-gi case as justification for retaining prosecutors' supplementary investigation powers'
The National Police Workplace Council, a police labor union, on Friday urged prosecutors not to use the "Jang Yun-gi case" as grounds for retaining their supplementary investigation powers.
The union held a press conference in front of the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, arguing that if there were legal violations or supervisory failures during the initial investigation and command process, those responsible should be held accountable through investigation and trial. "However, before the facts and criminal liability are established, it is necessary to exercise great caution in labeling frontline police officers as forces concealing a crime and using that characterization as a basis for retaining prosecutors' supplementary investigation authority," the union said.
The union said prosecutors and the union hold conflicting accounts of the contents of the investigation report police submitted when transferring the case, and called on prosecutors to release — to the extent permitted — the transfer opinion, the investigation report prepared by the Gwangsan Police Station investigative team, and an account of how the supplementary investigation was initiated.
"If police requested additional investigation into sex crime-related matters but that fact was not properly disclosed, this could raise allegations that the truth of the case was distorted — not merely a matter of explanation," the union added.
The union also directed pointed criticism at the police organization itself, saying it must be thoroughly examined whether the Korean National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters provided appropriate command, why field supervisors failed to raise concerns more actively, and whether a closed and hierarchical organizational culture allowed flawed judgment to take root.
Turning to the police leadership, the union said it was not genuine reform for senior commanders — who bear ultimate responsibility for the management failure — to evade accountability, shift blame onto lower-ranking officers, and pursue a nationwide mandatory rotation of posts citing the Jang Yun-gi case. "Rotating posts could instead weaken local public safety and investigative expertise," it said.
The union had held a press conference at the same location on Monday, announcing that the violent crimes unit of the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station's detective division had submitted a supplementary investigation report indicating it had reviewed charges of rape-murder, and called on prosecutors to state their position.
The Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office rebuffed the union's claims the following day, telling reporters that the report's main conclusion was that "proving rape-murder would be difficult," and that nowhere in the document was there a direct request or contextual reference calling for a review of rape-murder charges or supplementary investigation.
Inspector A, who commanded the Jang Yun-gi case on the front line as head of the detective division at Gwangsan Police Station and is under suspicion of having downgraded the charge from rape-murder to simple murder, was scheduled to appear Friday at the Gwangju District Court for a pre-arrest warrant hearing on charges including dereliction of duty.
kkm9971@heraldcorp.com
