‘High school girl’s killer’ Jang Yun-gi’s father: “I couldn’t understand how my good son could do such a thing...”

[Financial News]  Senior Inspector Jang, father of Jang Yun-gi, appeared in court and testified about how he dealt with his son’s car and studio apartment. He then told reporters, “I couldn’t understand how my good son could have done something like that.”

According to Yonhap News Agency and other outlets on the 28th, Senior Inspector Jang appeared as a witness that day in the trial of a police officer over a botched investigation at Gwangju District Court.
The roughly hourlong witness examination focused on how Senior Inspector Jang moved or disposed of items from his son’s car and residence.
Senior Inspector Jang took the car keys from a junior police colleague, wiped away bloodstains and cleaned the interior, and also took a large cable tie from inside the car. “I vaguely thought the police would have secured all the evidence they needed,” he said. He claimed he had searched for the car, which had been used in the crime, because “I also considered the possibility that an acquaintance might have committed the crime using my son’s car.”
Regarding his statement to prosecutors that he had “thought for a moment that he was a lunatic” when he found a damaged sex doll in his son’s studio apartment, he said, “I hadn’t even considered the possibility of a distorted view of sex.” He said he divided the sex doll between two large garbage bags and threw them away in separate locations because he “was worried YouTubers and others might see them and make false, exaggerated claims.” Asked why he had hurried to clear out the apartment, he replied, “I decided to clean it out because I never wanted to come back to Gwangju.” 

As Senior Inspector Jang left the courthouse after the trial, reporters asked, “Aren’t you sorry for the victim?” He replied, “I’m sorry.” Asked, “Do you know how much the victim’s family is suffering?” he answered, “I do.”
Asked whether he knew that the “kinship exception” meant he would not be punished even if he destroyed evidence, he said, “I wasn’t in my right mind at the time.” About the cable tie, identified as a restraint, he said, “I didn’t think about that aspect at the time.”
Witnesses at the hearing that day also included a member of the violent-crimes team at Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station who had recommended applying the charge of rape and murder early in the investigation of Jang Yun-gi’s case, and a crime analyst (profiler) with the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency who had raised the need to investigate whether the crime was sexually motivated.
They testified that they had expressed these views based on circumstances suggesting Jang Yun-gi had subdued the victim and tried to take her away rather than killing her immediately.
The court plans to hold a continuation hearing on the 4th of next month and continue hearing testimony from Senior Inspector Park (57, in custody), head of the Gwangsan Police Station violent-crimes team, and team member Sergeant Kim (41), who were indicted on charges including aiding the destruction of evidence.
Senior Inspector Park and others were indicted on suspicion of conspiring, last May, to return to Senior Inspector Jang the SUV containing the cable tie, a key piece of evidence, during the investigation into Jang Yun-gi’s killing of a high school girl. They were also charged with leaving behind two severely damaged sex dolls found during a search of Jang Yun-gi’s studio apartment and helping Senior Inspector Jang dispose of them.
Senior Inspector Park was also charged with failing to send prosecutors video footage of the cable tie recorded during the SUV search and ordering a subordinate to delete it.
Investigators found that Sergeant Kim had repeatedly informed Senior Inspector Jang, a former colleague from their time working at a local police substation, about the investigation, including plans to seek an arrest warrant.
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter