Six Officers Placed on Standby Over Jang Yun-gi Case Probe

Six investigators, including the chief of the Gwangsan Police Station, have been placed on standby amid suspicions of evidence tampering in the case of the man who killed a high school girl in Gwangju.

The Korean National Police Agency said Friday that it had placed a total of six people on standby, including two supervisors — the Gwangsan Police Station chief and the head of the criminal affairs division at the time of the Jang Yun-gi case — and four members of the investigation team. Senior Inspector A, head of the violent crimes team, for whom an arrest warrant was requested the same day on charges of evidence tampering, was removed from duty and then relieved of his post in order to clearly establish the various allegations.

Earlier, the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office searched the Gwangsan station the same day to confirm the charges against Senior Inspector A, who faces allegations of destroying evidence and leaking official secrets. He is suspected of passing investigation information to Jang Yun-gi's father, a serving police officer, and of destroying some of the evidence used in the crime.

The National Office of Investigation under the Korean National Police Agency has formed a special investigation team at the Gwangju Police Agency to look into suspicions of an investigation cover-up related to the Jang Yun-gi case. The special investigation team comprises a total of 27 people, including a Korean National Police Agency investigation team leader and investigators from the serious crimes investigation division.