Police draw curtain on Jang Ja-yeon scandal

Jang’s friend fabricated letters, says National Forensic Service

By Park Si-soo

The National Forensic Service (NFS) said Wednesday that the letters allegedly written by the late actress Jang Ja-yeon were fabricated, the confirmation needed for the police to put an end to its investigation into the high-profile scandal.

The letters thought to be handwritten by Jang to a “friend,” surnamed Jeon, 31, were the main reason for the reopening of an investigation into the young actress’ suicide.

Jang killed herself citing mental distress stemming from being forced to entertain and provide sexual services to dozens of business and media heavyweights two years ago.

“After comparing Jang Ja-yeon’s handwriting with the letters in question, we concluded that they are not identical,” said Yang Hu-yeol, a senior official of the NFS, at a media briefing. “Many grammatical errors are in line with the mistakes Jeon made in his personal letters. Therefore, we’ve concluded that Jeon himself faked the letters.”

The disclosure came 10 days after SBS TV exclusively reported on the letters, raising doubt on the thoroughness of the first investigation into the case. None of the high-profile figures involved in the first investigation in 2009 were prosecuted for a lack of evidence.

Skepticism arose over 230 pages of letters thought to be written by Jang, which the broadcaster had secured from the alleged childhood boyfriend of hers.

No more investigation?

Police reopened the case on the second anniversary of her suicide on March 7.

The new letters depicted the ordeal Jang endured and identified the 31 people she was forced to “serve,” calling them demons.

Jeon, now serving a prison term for rape and fraud, claimed the actress visited him in prison several times and sent numerous letters between 2005 and just days before her death in 2009.

But police and forensic scientists confirmed Wednesday the letters and all allegations raised by Jeon were “entirely false and groundless.”

“It turned out that the letters were not written by the late actress. And no personal relationship between Jang and Jeon was found,” Kim Gap-sik, a chief investigator at Gyeonggi Police Agency, told reporters in a televised news briefing.

Citing investigation reports from police and forensic scientists, Kim said, “The man has been suffering from a mental illness and it seems that he wrote the letters and raised false allegations in a deluded state.”

The investigator said the man took an interest in the actress following her death and collected relevant information through mail correspondents and Internet searches to write the disputed letters.

“He has received medical treatment for mental illness. His friends in prison testified he habitually pledged he would retaliate for Jang’s hardship and establish an entertainment agency after his release,” the investigator explained, adding the man still insists that the letters are genuine.

He said police will not continue the investigation at the moment but they will willingly reopen the case if fresh, creditable evidence emerges in the future.

Following the announcement, SBS said it will respect the result. “We have no choice but to respect the findings provided by the National Forensic Service, which is the most creditable investigator of this kind,” SBS said in a statement.

Probe into entertainment industry

The third largest broadcaster has claimed its forensic scientists had confirmed this before running the report that the handwriting in the letters was identical to that of Jang.

Police said they will launch a large-scale crackdown on sexual abuse of fledging entertainers by their agency bosses for the next four months.

Those coercing hopefuls to entertain TV producers or other media firm executives in exchange for casting will be subject to intense scrutiny, police said.

They will also clamp down on those extorting performance fees from rookie entertainers.

Meanwhile, major portal websites were bombarded with messages criticizing the police announcement. They raised strong suspicions over the transparency of the investigation. Some alleged police covered up key evidence to save influential figures.

“The result was predestined regardless of the investigation,” one message read.

Jang hanged herself at her home in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province on March 7, 2009, leaving a suicide note indicating that she had suffered severe mental distress due to being forced to have sex with dozens of high-profile figures. She was 27.

경찰 "장자연 편지는 자작극"

'장자연 편지' 사건은 자작극으로 결론이 났다. 경찰은 전 모 씨가 고 장자연 씨의 글씨를 흉내 내 편지를 위조했다고 밝혔다. 전 씨는 10여 년 전부터 장 씨와 친구로 지내며 편지를 교환했다고 주장하는 인물이다.

그러나 국립과학수사연구원의 필적 감정 결과 전 씨가 공개한 편지의 글씨는 장 씨의 글씨가 아니었다. 국과수는 경찰이 전 씨로부터 압수한 편지들과 미리 보관하고 있던 장 씨의 친필 노트를 비교했다.

경찰은 전 씨가 신문 등을 통해 장 씨의 자필 문서를 보고 글씨를 연습한 것으로 보인다고 설명했다. 또 장 씨와 전 씨가 편지를 주고받은 기록도 없고, 두 사람이 각각 다른 곳에서 성장해 만나기 어려웠다고 경찰은 밝혔다.

전 씨는 과대망상 등 정신분열 증세를 보였다고도 경찰은 덧붙였다. 경찰은 이번 사건이 전 씨의 자작극으로 결론남에 따라 사건 수사를 마치기로 했다.