'Stepchild Murder Acquittal' Caused by Poor Investigation... Heavier Burden on National Forensic Service

From Go Yoo-jeong, Lee Young-hak to Ahn In-deuk
Controversies over successive initial response
Investigation authority adjustment to be implemented next year
Need for measures to strengthen police investigators' capabilities

The appearance of Go Yoo-jeong attending the first trial court session last February. On the 5th, the Supreme Court confirmed a life sentence for Go. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The Supreme Court confirmed a life sentence for Ko Yoo-jeong (37), who murdered her ex-husband, but acquitted her in the case of her stepson's death. The police's inadequate initial investigation ultimately covered up the truth of the incident. With the adjustment of investigative authority strengthening the police's investigative powers starting next year, the responsibility of the National Investigation Headquarters (Guksubon), which will oversee police investigations, has become even heavier.

Ko faced two major charges: the murder of her ex-husband and the murder of her stepson. The Supreme Court recognized the charge of murdering her ex-husband but acquitted her of the charge of murdering her stepson, stating that the evidence was insufficient.

The main reason behind this was the police's inadequate initial investigation. The stepson, Hong Mo (4), died in March of last year. Early in the investigation, the police excluded Ko from the list of suspects because she was sleeping in another room and judged the death as simple asphyxiation. It was only two months later, after the murder charge against Ko for her ex-husband came to light, that she was placed under investigation. However, direct evidence such as the mattress and blanket, which would have contained traces of Hong, had already been discarded.

Consequently, the police had no choice but to proceed with the investigation based on indirect evidence. It was confirmed that Ko had been prescribed sleeping pills before Hong's death, and these sleeping pills were found in Hong's body. Additionally, Ko had searched for articles about 'pillow asphyxiation of a mother with dementia.' However, the court judged that such indirect evidence alone was insufficient to conclude that 'Ko murdered Hong.' Professor Lee Woong-hyuk of Konkuk University's Department of Police Science analyzed, "In any murder case, preserved evidence from the scene is crucially submitted in court, so initial investigations are inevitably important. This acquittal applied the universal principle of 'when the case is ambiguous, it should be interpreted in favor of the defendant.'

In 2017, the 'Tooth Father' Lee Young-hak (38) case involving the murder of his daughter's friend, last year's 'Burning Sun' case, and the Ahn In-deuk case also faced criticism for inadequate and sluggish initial responses that exacerbated the incidents. The biggest challenge for the police, who will exercise full investigative authority following the abolition of the prosecution's investigative supervision next year, is to minimize controversies over inadequate investigations. The role of the Guksubon, which will be established in conjunction with the implementation of the autonomous police system, is particularly important. Guksubon will oversee police investigations while enhancing investigators' expertise and implementing control mechanisms, managing overall investigative policies. Currently, the focus is on establishing internal and external control mechanisms for police investigations, but there are calls for measures to strengthen investigators' capabilities and secure expertise. Professor Lee suggested, "When an incident occurs, multiple possibilities should be kept open, and the process of initial investigation should be firmly learned and applied on-site."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.