Gov't apologizes over Gwangju murder case, vows police reform
Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung, center, gives an address to the nation regarding controversy over the police's alleged mishandling of a high-profile murder case in Gwangju at Government Complex Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap
The government apologized to the nation on Thursday over the police's alleged mishandling of a high-profile murder case in Gwangju and vowed thorough reforms.
In an address to the nation, Interior Minister Yun Ho-jung addressed the controversy over allegations that police in the southwestern city leaked investigative material to the murder suspect's father, who is also a police officer in Gwangju.
"As the interior minister responsible for the people's lives and safety, I express my deep regret and consolation to the victim's family and apologize for causing concern to the people," he said at the government complex in Seoul.
"The government is handling this case as a grave matter and will root out corruption within the police while thoroughly reforming the investigative system in order to restore the people's trust that has collapsed under shoddy and cover-up investigations," he added.
The murder and subsequent investigation have become a lightning rod issue in politics as the alleged collusion between police officers was revealed during a supplementary investigation by prosecutors at a time when the ruling Democratic Party of Korea has been pushing to strip the prosecution of supplementary investigation powers.
The suspect, 23-year-old Jang Yoon-gi, is accused of killing a 16-year-old female high school student and attempting to kill a 17-year-old male student on May 5.
"We will make sure that not only those responsible in this case but all corrupt police officers have no place within the police," Yun said.
To start, the government will adopt a full-scale rotational assignment system to prevent collusion between police officers and introduce voluntary disclosure and recusal systems to root out the practice of officers shielding each other and those close to them, he said.