Jang Yun-gi's police officer father escapes criminal charges under 'family exemption' law

Jang Yun-gi, 23, who murdered a high school girl in Gwangju. [Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency]

The case of Jang Yun-gi, 23, convicted of murdering a high school girl in Gwangju, has put the criminal code's "family exemption" provision under scrutiny. In the early stages of the investigation, Jang's father — a police officer — used his position to destroy and conceal evidence. Contrary to expectations that he would face evidence-tampering charges, the elder Jang has avoided criminal punishment, shielded by the family exemption clause in the Criminal Act.

The Korean National Police Agency said Tuesday that even if Jang's father, Inspector Jang, is excluded from criminal prosecution under the family exemption provision, "if misconduct is confirmed through an internal affairs investigation, disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with relevant laws, including the State Public Officials Act and the Police Officers Disciplinary Decree."

Inspector Jang disposed of some evidence but will face only internal disciplinary measures rather than criminal charges.

Earlier, Inspector Jang destroyed various items of evidence expected to be incriminating for his son. Shortly after the incident on May 5, Inspector A — head of the detective unit at the Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station — searched Jang's rented room and passed the home address and door passcode to Inspector Jang.

Police found a sex doll damaged with a sharp object at Jang's residence but reportedly photographed it without preserving the physical evidence. Inspector Jang then cut the doll into several pieces and disposed of it. He also discarded a mobile phone his son had previously used.

Prosecuting Inspector Jang criminally is, however, practically impossible under the family exemption provisions of the Criminal Act. Articles 151 (harboring a criminal) and 155 (destruction of evidence) both state that "when a relative or a family member living together commits a crime on behalf of the person, they shall not be punished." Family members or relatives who help a criminal flee or destroy evidence are therefore exempt from prosecution.

Jang Yun-gi, 23, who faces murder charges and other allegations, is transferred from the Western Police Station in Gwangju's Seo-gu to prosecutors in May. [Newsis]

In practice, courts have applied the family exemption to acquit defendants even when the underlying facts are clear. The Uijeongbu District Court in January recognized a person related by marriage within two degrees of kinship as a "relative" and acquitted them of charges of helping another person evade police.

In that case, the defendant told police investigating a traffic accident outside a hospital emergency room that they, not the actual driver, had caused the crash. The court found that the defendant had made a false statement to help the driver avoid investigation but ruled it "a case that does not constitute a crime as it falls under the family exemption."

Moves to revise the provision are gaining momentum. Rep. Han Jeong-ae, policy chief of the Democratic Party of Korea, introduced a bill on Thursday to amend the Criminal Act. The proposed amendment would delete the family exemption clauses that currently apply to harboring a criminal and destruction of evidence, among other offenses.

If passed, family members and relatives who help a criminal flee or destroy evidence would face criminal prosecution.

Some argue, however, that outright abolition goes too far. Lee Chang-hyeon, a professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies School of Law, said eliminating the family exemption "would only mass-produce criminals," adding that "anyone would try to help a family member who has committed a crime. If it is abolished, there is no reasonable expectation that people would act lawfully."

Lee said the scope of who qualifies as a relative should nonetheless be narrowed. "Under current law, relatives up to the eighth degree of kinship are covered," he said. "By today's standards, even a fourth-degree relative feels distant — eighth-degree is an extremely broad range."

20ki@heraldcorp.com