KB News Desk
The man charged with killing a teenage girl in Gwangju discussed kidnapping and sexual assault with friends when he was in high school, according to new evidence submitted at trial on Monday.
The prosecution submitted social media discussions that Jang Yoon-gi had with his acquaintances both when was in high school and when he was serving as a social service worker.
As a high school student, Jang told others that he “wants to kidnap a teenage girl and commit a sex crime.” This piece of evidence was submitted to prove that Jang’s actions were intentional.
Jang was charged with rape leading to murder and the attempted murder of a teenage boy who tried to help the victim, along with separate stalking and sex crime charges against an adult woman he used to work with.
On July 13, he pleaded guilty to the charges, reversing his previous position that the crime was not sexually charged.
Jang’s lawyer acknowledged that the social media discussions did occur, but not in the way that the prosecution insinuated. “If you look at the flow of the conversation, you can see that the defendant did not initiate the lewd conversation but was just responding to the other person,” the lawyer said.
In addition to the current trial, Jang is involved in a case of alleged interference by local police to hide crucial evidence connected to the attack. Jang’s father and uncle, both active police officers, are suspected to have taken part in the alleged cover-up.
