The case unfolded on 5/5 in Gwangsan district, Gwangju city. Jang Yun-gi, 23, stands accused of murdering 17-year-old student Lee Chae-won on the street and attempting to murder a 17-year-old male student who tried to intervene.

Police arrested Jang on the same day, forwarding the case to prosecutors for indictment on murder charges.

However, during further investigation, prosecutors uncovered evidence suggesting Jang had pre-planned the attack and intended to sexually assault the victim. This elevated the charge to "murder with intent to rape," a crime carrying the maximum penalty of life imprisonment or death under South Korean law.

Suspect Jang Yun-gi is escorted from Gwangju Seobu Police Station for transfer to prosecutors on 14/5. News1.

Investigation results revealed Jang's father, a police captain, worked in the Jeonnam area of Gwangju. After his son's arrest, the investigation team allegedly provided the father with the address and access code to the suspect's apartment.

Three days after the incident, the father entered the apartment, removed a sex doll and several old phones, and destroyed them. Investigators believe these items could have been important evidence to prove the suspect's sexual motive and pre-meditation.

Prosecutors also discovered a bundle of plastic zip ties, approximately 40 cm long, at the father's home. Police had observed these in the suspect's car immediately after the arrest but failed to seize them as evidence.

The zip ties could have been used to restrain or bind the victim before the crime. Notably, video footage showing this evidence was also removed from the file submitted to the prosecution.

Prosecutors contend that police returning the vehicle to the suspect's father just one day after the incident facilitated the hiding of the zip ties.

A senior inspector at Gwangsan Police Station faces accusations of instructing colleagues not to seize the zip ties, despite seeing them in Jang's car. The inspector is also accused of losing or intentionally destroying evidence and repeatedly leaking confidential investigation information to the suspect's father through dozens of phone calls.

The senior inspector from Gwangsan Police Station is escorted to Gwangju District Court for a pre-trial hearing on 8/7. Yonhap.

The Korean National Police Agency sought an arrest warrant for the inspector, requesting court approval for pre-trial detention to investigate charges of evidence destruction and revealing investigation secrets.

Prosecutors searched Gwangsan Police Station, seizing records, electronic data, and related documents to determine if an organized cover-up occurred during the investigation.

Six other officers, including the Gwangsan police station chief, the head of the criminal investigation division, and four detectives from the violent crime unit, have been temporarily suspended pending investigation results.

The victim's family criticized police for "siding with the killer" rather than protecting the victim's rights. They argued that proper evidence preservation from the outset would have clarified the true motive of the crime sooner.

Amid growing public controversy, Yoo Jae-seong, acting chief of the National Police Agency, apologized to the victim's family and the public on 10/7. He pledged a comprehensive investigation and strict punishment for all individuals who violated laws or agency regulations.

Prosecutors have initiated criminal proceedings against the implicated officers.