Court “extremely insolvent in the initial police investigation”
After 23 years,
“The case reality labyrinth… Compensation is also less than common sense”
Jeong Hyeon-jo, the father of a female college student who died after a sexual assault in Daegu 23 years ago, is looking at a picture of her daughter stored on a mobile phone in an apartment in Daegu on the 3rd. He says, “There is a real criminal.” Reporter Jeon Joon-ho
23 years ago, the bereaved family members of the’Daegu female college student rape death case’ won a lawsuit for damages filed against the state on the 2nd, but his father, Jeong Hyeon-jo, 73, was still unable to calm his anger. The 25th Civil Affairs Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Judge Kwan-Yong Lee) ruled to pay compensation of about 130 million won, including late damages, in response to the mental damage caused by the investigation agency’s poor initial investigation, but the substance of the case was not revealed at all, and the compensation was also made. It was argued that it was less than common sense. The police, who dismissed it as a simple traffic accident and did not conduct a semen test at the time of the autopsy, designated three Sri Lankans as criminals 15 years after the incident, 15 years after the incident, due to Mr. Chung’s persistent request for re-investigation, but was found acquitted in 2017 due to insufficient evidence. However, Mr. Jung argues, “In the first place, Sri Lankans are not the culprit, the real culprit is separate.” On the 3rd, the day after the trial, I met Jeong, who was working on security at an apartment in Suseong-gu, Daegu.
-Won the damage suit.
“The fault and responsibility of the police who initially investigated the sexual assault death case as a simple traffic accident were once again confirmed. Thank you. But even if the initial investigation was done properly, it would not have lasted 23 years. After the incident, I left my life to my wife. If you list the family history you have experienced while running around to find out the truth, the level of compensation is less than 10%. We are considering an appeal.”
(The Ministry of Justice ruled, “Pay 20 million won each to parents and 5 million won each to three siblings, a total of 55 million won.” From 1998, when the incident occurred, a total of 130 million won was added after adding 5% of the delayed damages per year. All.)
-What was the problem with the initial investigation?
“When my daughter was hit by a truck, her underwear was removed. Despite the clear sex crime situation, the police only tested for blood and alcohol at the autopsy and omitted the semen collection test. At the time, the autopsy doctor said,’Since a small amount of semen was detected in the body, the investigation into the Noodles Tree. When the results come out, the investigation will begin,” but the investigation was ended with a simple traffic accident. The police are also a problem, but the prosecution who directed the investigation is highly responsible.”
(Jung Eun-hee was hit by a 23-ton truck on the Daegu Guma Expressway at around 5:10 am on October 17, 1998, when she was a freshman in college. Jeong, who returned home after the school festival, died in the middle of a highway 7.7 km away from the house, and was wearing underwear. It was also found belatedly near the accident site.)
-In 2013, three Sri Lankans were identified as criminals and investigated.
“Sri Lankans are not the culprit. When the police determined Sri Lankans as the culprit, the panties of the daughter, which was presented in the picture saying’Sperm positive test came out’, were damaged much, unlike those found at the scene immediately after the incident. Also, the girdle was damaged. The shape and length were different. Eunhee and her twin daughter were wearing underwear together, so I could confirm. I asked the police to check the evidence, but they were ignored.”
(Two of the three arrested as criminals in 2013 had already returned to Sri Lanka, and Mr. K, who was accused of rape and stealing money and goods by taking Jeong Yang to a tunnel under the highway, was found not guilty in 2017. The police took Mr. K to Sri Lanka. Mr. K, who was deported and prosecuted in the country, was accused of having a high school girl prostitution, and was identified as the culprit in the process of comparing the DNA of Jung Yang’s underwear.)
Jeong Hyeon-jo, the father of a female college student who died after a sexual assault in Daegu 23 years ago, is searching for data related to the daughter case in an apartment in Daegu on the 3rd. Reporter Jeon Joon-ho
-To say that the semen-stained underwear is different from that found near the scene immediately after the accident means that the evidence was arbitrarily or unintentionally manipulated.
“Yes. It is different from the underwear I saw right after the accident. It is natural that all kinds of suspicions arise because the police did not do the semen test during the autopsy.”
-Is it saying that there is a real beom?
“I know there was a criminal among the people who were investigated by the police at the time. I have a heartache, but it is an issue that the police should reveal through physical evidence.”
-How have you been for 23 years since the 1998 incident?
“At that time, I heard the news of the accident one week after I opened a side dish store while doing a shoe design job. I left the store to my wife and ran across the country because the police investigation wasn’t working properly. I heard it, but whenever I have time, I try to find out the truth. I can’t tell the pain that my family suffered.”
-What are your plans for the future?
“Even at the beginning of this year, I asked the police for a re-investigation. Even if the statute of limitations has passed, the substance of the case must be revealed. I haven’t learned it, but the speculum should clarify the substance. The killer went to his daughter’s graveyard and said,’I was wrong.’ I can finish it with a wish so I can go back to my daily routine.
Daegu= Junho Jeon reporter [email protected]
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