Daegu college student death case

Overview

In the early morning of October 17, 1998, Jung (18 at the time), a first-year student in the nursing department of Keimyung University, was killed when she was hit by a freight truck on the Gu-Ma Expressway (now the Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway) near the Namdaegu interchange in Dalseo-gu, Daegu. Jung had been returning home after the school festival the previous day. Her underwear was found about 30 meters from the accident site, and there were other circumstances suggesting a sexual crime. Nevertheless, police closed the case as a simple traffic accident after two months. After persistent complaints from the bereaved family, in 2013 the DNA detected on the underwear was found to match that of Sri Lankan national K. Prosecutors indicted him on charges of special robbery and rape. However, the courts ultimately acquitted him, with the Supreme Court ruling in 2017. The case sparked debate over the inadequate initial investigation, the statute of limitations for sexual crimes, and the difficulty of punishing foreign accomplices.

Initial investigation

Jung was found on the expressway about 7 km from her school, in the direction opposite to her home. In December 1998, police concluded the case as a simple fatal traffic accident. Because it occurred on an expressway, they did not recognize the truck driver's negligence and did not indict him (Dong-A Ilbo 2021). In a March 1999 examination by the National Forensic Service, it was confirmed that the underwear belonged to Jung and that semen had been detected, but the owner could not be identified because there was no sample for comparison. Jung's father demanded reinvestigation dozens of times and campaigned to establish the truth.

DNA match and indictment

On May 31, 2013, the father filed a complaint with the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office 137 days before the statute of limitations (15 years) expired. When the prosecutor in charge checked the DNA from the stored semen sample, it matched that of Sri Lankan national K, whose DNA had been collected after he was fined in 2010 for inducing a high school girl into prostitution (Dong-A Ilbo 2018). K had entered Korea as an industrial trainee in the late 1990s, lived near the accident site, and later married a Korean national and remained in the country.

By then, the statute of limitations (10 years) for rape and special rape had already expired. Prosecutors applied the charge of special robbery and rape, which carries a 15-year statute of limitations, citing the disappearance of Jung's student ID, three books, and cash. In September 2013, 43 days before the statute of limitations expired, they indicted K while he was in custody. Two Sri Lankan nationals who were named as having committed the crime together had already been deported for illegal residence, so their cases were suspended (Yonhap News).

Trial

• May 30, 2014: First trial at the Daegu District Court, 12th Criminal Division. Acquitted of special robbery and rape. The court ruled that there was insufficient proof of robbery before or after the rape.