"He's Handsome, It's Such a Pity?"... Lawyer Responds to Bizarre 'Appearance Evaluation' of High School Girl Murder Suspect

A Surge of Online Comments Judging Jang Yoon-gi's Appearance
Concerns Grow Over Glorifying the Perpetrator and Secondary Victimization

Jang YoonKi (23), who is accused of murder and attempted murder, is being transferred from Gwangju Seobu Police Station to the prosecution on the morning of the 14th. Photo by Yonhap News.

Controversy is spreading online over the so-called "appearance evaluation" surrounding Jang Yoonki (23), the suspect in the 'Gwangju High School Girl Murder Case.' As reactions such as "he's good-looking" and "it's a pity" regarding the suspect's appearance continue to circulate, criticism is mounting over this distorted way of consuming crime stories, which pushes aside the brutality of the incident and the weight of the harm caused.

"Should go easy on him because he's handsome" "He's good-looking, so it's a pity"... Controversy over glamorizing a murderer

The controversy erupted immediately after photos believed to be from Jang's social network service (SNS) accounts began to spread. Some netizens left comments such as, "The verdict should consider his looks," "Since he's handsome, maybe we should cut him some slack," and "It's a pity that such a good-looking guy committed such a crime."

Experts point out that such reactions obscure the essence and responsibility of the crime while providing unnecessary grounds for sympathy toward the perpetrator. They also stress that focusing on the perpetrator's appearance, while ignoring the suffering of the victim and their family, distorts the nature of the incident and can lead to secondary harm.

Jang Yoonki (23), who is charged with murder and attempted murder, is being transferred from Gwangju Seobu Police Station to the prosecution on the morning of the 14th. Photo by Yonhap News

Concerns are also being raised within the legal community. On May 12, Jihoon Lee, managing partner at Law & More, addressed the comments about the suspect's appearance in a video on the YouTube channel "The Lawyer You Know," criticizing remarks such as "he's good-looking" left under the released photo of the suspect. He said, "You can look at someone's face and think 'he's handsome' or 'he's not,' but why would you leave such comments?"

Attorney Lee stated, "You don't grade people based on their faces," adding, "People who keep judging others by their looks or conditions are the ones who always get scammed. If someone just looks friendly, they simply trust them. This is a serious issue. If you look at the comments, you see a line of potential victims." He further emphasized, "Those who look at this 'random murder' and say, 'He seemed nice, why would he do that?' or 'He's good-looking, why did he do it?' are potential victims themselves."

Recurring Controversy Over 'Appearance Ratings' of Perpetrators

The suspect in the 'Gangbuk Motel Drug Case,' Kim Soyoung (20), with her publicly released face (right) and photos assumed to be from her SNS account. SNS capture

This is not the first time such controversy has occurred. When photos from the SNS account of Kim Soyoung (20), the suspect in the so-called 'Gangbuk Motel Drug Death Case' that resulted in the deaths of two men in their 20s, were made public, online discourse also focused on her appearance and generated a wave of sympathy.

Meanwhile, Jang is accused of murdering a 17-year-old female high school junior and attacking a 17-year-old male student with a weapon at 12:11 a.m. on May 5, on a secluded walkway in Wolgye-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju. In police questioning, he stated, "I didn't know the girl at all and just saw her passing by before committing the crime," and "I was going to die anyway, so I wanted to take someone with me."

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