Police Launch Preliminary Investigation
The police have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the leak of situation reports written by the police and local government regarding the crime committed by Park Daesung (30), who chased and killed a teenage female student with a weapon.
The Cyber Crime Investigation Unit of the Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency announced on the 7th that it is investigating how the report on the Park Daesung murder case was distributed mainly through social networking services (SNS) such as KakaoTalk group chats. Two types of reports, presumed to have been written by the Jeonnam Police Agency’s Violent Crimes Division and Suncheon City’s Safety General Division respectively, are official documents prohibited from external leakage. Each report contained personal information such as the suspect Park Daesung’s name, as well as the victim’s real name and age, along with case details not disclosed to the media. The police believe the reports were leaked on the day of the incident, last month on the 26th.
The police plan to convert the investigation into an official inquiry by applying charges such as breach of official secrets or violation of the Personal Information Protection Act once the initial leaker is identified through a pre-investigation (internal inquiry) before formal indictment.
Park Dae-sung (30), who is accused of murder, is being transferred from Suncheon Police Station in Jeollanam-do to the prosecution on the morning of the 4th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Park Daesung was sent to detention on charges of murder after stabbing A (18), a girl walking in Jorye-dong, Suncheon City, Jeonnam, multiple times with a weapon around 12:44 a.m. on the 26th of last month, causing her death.
He was drinking alone at a delivery restaurant he runs, took a weapon, went outside, and chased A, whom he did not know, for about 800 meters before committing the crime, according to the investigation. He told the police, "At the time of the crime, I had broken up with my girlfriend and business was bad, so I drank about four bottles of soju. I do not remember the details of the crime." The police concluded that Park Daesung committed a 'random attack' targeting unspecified individuals while intoxicated.
Considering the brutality of the method, the public’s right to know, and the severity of the damage, the police investigating the case publicly released Park Daesung’s personal information and mugshot on the Jeonnam Police Agency website on the 30th of last month. This is the first time the Jeonnam Police Agency has disclosed the identity of a suspect in a heinous crime.
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