Lee Chae-won's Family Says Police Sided With Killer, Not Victim

The family of a slain high school student and a civic group have called for a thorough investigation and stern punishment of the police officers involved, following allegations of evidence destruction and collusion in the police handling of the case against Jang Yoon-gi, 23, the killer of the female student.

A memorial group for the late Lee Chae-won and her bereaved family held a press conference in the lobby of the Gwangju Police Agency on Wednesday morning. "This case is not the mistake or incompetence of a few investigators, but there are suspicions that the police organization reduced and covered up the case to protect its own," they said. "Judicial authorities must clarify all suspicions through an investigation with no sanctuary."

Regarding the claim by Superintendent A, the investigation team leader at the Gwangsan Police Station for whom an arrest warrant was requested on charges of destroying evidence, that he had "only been incompetent, with no intent," they said, "This is an evasion of responsibility and a secondary victimization of the bereaved family." They added, "The police officers who shielded Jang Yoon-gi and covered up the case must be held to appropriate legal responsibility."

Chae-won's mother was unable to continue speaking or held back tears whenever she thought of her daughter. "We are desperately hoping for the law to be changed so that the perpetrator can be sentenced to death without fail," she said. "The reason we revealed our daughter's name and even her face to the world while shedding tears of blood was solely out of the wish that no victim like Chae-won would ever emerge again."

She continued, "We found that the police, who should protect the people, were reducing the case behind the scenes and covering it up in an organized manner." She criticized, "The police, whom we believed would investigate more strictly than anyone and resolve the injustice against our Chae-won, were not on our side but on the side of the murderer. If it had been the police officers' own daughters who lost their lives unjustly, could they have quietly watched evidence disappear and the truth be damaged?"

She also raised her voice, saying, "Do those who fail to observe even the fundamental duty of securing evidence dare to be police officers?" She added, "I want to ask whether they are qualified to perform the duty of a police officer. This is a dereliction of duty that completely forgets the responsibility of the police."

She also mentioned that the perpetrator's father is a police officer. Chae-won's mother appealed, "I was driven to despair once again by the suspicion that the truth of the case was distorted and evidence was destroyed because the perpetrator's father is a police officer." She added, "I hope all the truth will be revealed through the investigation and trial so that the same harm is never repeated."

Referring to the possibility that the perpetrator's father could be excluded from criminal punishment under the principle of exemption for crimes among relatives, she said she was "greatly shocked" and urged that "the National Assembly and the government review the relevant system."

The bereaved family and the civic group demanded a thorough investigation into the suspicions of organized cover-up by the police, strict judicial handling of the officers involved, and an inquiry into the facts with no sanctuary.

After the press conference, the family delivered a letter of protest to Gwangju Police Agency Commissioner Kim Young-geun and demanded a fair and swift investigation.

Meanwhile, the pre-detention interrogation (warrant review) of Superintendent A, the Gwangsan Police Station investigation team leader who faces charges including destruction of evidence, was held at the Gwangju District Court on Wednesday morning. Whether the arrest warrant will be issued is scheduled to be decided Wednesday afternoon.