Father of 'real doll disposal' killer called as witness in lenient-probe trial

The father of Jang Yun-gi, the convicted killer of a high school girl who drew public outrage for disposing of key evidence including a sex doll, has been called as a witness in the trial over allegations that police went easy on the investigation.

Judge Lee Seung-yeon of the Gwangju District Court's Criminal Division 12 presided over the first hearing Monday in the case against Park, a 57-year-old senior inspector and head of the violent crimes unit at the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station, and Kim, a 41-year-old detective on the same team. Both face charges including aiding the destruction of evidence — Park is in detention.

The court decided to summon as a witness at the next hearing, scheduled for Oct. 28, a senior inspector surnamed Jang, who is in his 50s. Jang allegedly received the passcode to Jang Yun-gi's rented room and the keys to his SUV from Park and Kim, then destroyed or concealed items related to the case, including a sex doll and cable ties.

The inspector is Jang Yun-gi's father. He was exempted from criminal punishment for the destruction of evidence under a provision in the Criminal Act granting special treatment to family members.

The violent crimes unit led by Park had learned on the day the case broke that Jang Yun-gi's father was a fellow officer attached to the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency.

Kim had also worked alongside the elder Jang at a local police substation for about six months sometime between 2024 and last year.

Park and others were indicted on charges of conspiring, during their investigation of Jang Yun-gi's killing of the high school girl last May, to return to the elder Jang an SUV that contained cable ties — a key piece of evidence.

They also face charges of leaving two badly damaged sex dolls found during a search and seizure of Jang Yun-gi's rented room and allowing the elder Jang to dispose of them.

The indictment against Park further includes allegations that he ordered a member of his investigation team to delete footage of the cable ties recorded during the search of the SUV, rather than forwarding it to prosecutors.

Kim is alleged to have repeatedly tipped off the elder Jang — a former colleague — about the progress of the investigation, including plans to seek an arrest warrant, whether Jang Yun-gi had admitted to the crime, and the seizure of a spare mobile phone.

At the first hearing, Park's side said it was sorry to the victim's bereaved family for sparking the controversy over a shoddy investigation, but argued that moral failings and criminal liability are different things. The defense said the defendants' overall conduct should not be judged in hindsight simply because Jang Yun-gi was ultimately indicted on charges of rape and murder.

The defense added that in the early stages of the case, the team had focused its investigation on the killing itself and on finding the murder weapon, and had therefore failed to properly assess the significance of items such as the cable ties.

The court is set to hold the next hearing on Oct. 14, when it will question as a witness the violent crimes team member who filmed the cable ties during the inspection of Jang Yun-gi's vehicle.

Subsequent hearings will include questioning of the elder Jang, officials from the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency who took part in the investigation, and the defendants including Park.