Police raid Gwangju police chief's office over murder probe mishandling

A special investigation team from the National Police Agency's Investigation Headquarters has searched the offices of the Gwangju Police Agency chief and others as part of an inquiry into allegations of a mishandled investigation into the murder case of Jang Yoon-gi, 23.

The searches, which began at 6 a.m. on the 11th, targeted seven locations, including the Gwangju Police Agency chief's office and the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station chief's office. This follows a previous search on July 7 of the office of the former Gwangsan Police Station chief, identified only as Kim, who is under investigation for alleged official secrets violations, evidence tampering, and aiding evidence tampering.

Jang is accused of murdering 17-year-old Lee Chae-won in Gwangju on May 5. The controversy intensified when it was revealed that the Gwangsan Police Station investigation team failed to seize key evidence, such as Jang's mobile phone and a damaged sex doll found at his residence. Further allegations surfaced that Jang's father, a police officer himself, may have destroyed this evidence. The suspicion of a botched investigation has now escalated into allegations of collusion, with evidence suggesting the investigation team may have leaked information to Jang's father.

Both the Gwangsan Police Station's command and investigation personnel are reportedly under investigation by the police's special team and prosecutors regarding suspicions that they assisted Jang's father, a serving police officer, in destroying evidence.