A police inspector accused of destroying key evidence in the Gwangju murder investigation is escorted from the Gwangju District Court on Wednesday. (Yonhap) The family of Lee Chae-won, the 17-year-old victim in the May murder case in Gwangju, denounced police Wednesday over allegations that officers covered up or mishandled evidence in the investigation involving the suspect and his father, who is also a police officer.Lee’s mother called for a thorough investigation into whether evidence was properly collected and preserved, saying the allegations amounted to a serious dereliction of duty, not a simple mistake.Local reports have raised suspicions that senior officials at the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency may have interfered with the investigation into Jang Yoon-gi. Jang has been indicted on charges of murdering Lee, attacking another high school student and sexually assaulting a woman in a separate case.“Police are supposed to protect the people, but they tried to downplay the case and hide the facts at an organizational level,” Lee’s mother said during a press conference in front of the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency.“We believed the police would conduct a fair investigation and resolve the injustice Chae-won suffered. But they were not on our side. They were on the side of the killer,” she said.Several police officers are under investigation for allegedly leaking information to Jang’s father, who is a police inspector. Another inspector who led the initial investigation into Jang was recently arrested on suspicion of destroying key evidence: a zip tie that prosecutors say could help prove the May 5 attack was premeditated, rather than a random crime as Jang had claimed.Prosecutors said they found and secured an unopened zip tie during a search of Jang’s father’s home in Gwangju on Tuesday. The item had been at the center of evidence destruction allegations after it disappeared from Jang’s vehicle during the initial police investigation.The zip tie is suspected to have been intended for use in abducting Lee. The initial investigation team at Gwangju Gwangsan Police Station reportedly found the item but did not secure it as evidence.Prosecutors also seized the SUV allegedly used in the crime and plan to conduct a detailed forensic examination of the vehicle.Jang had been indicted on charges of murder in connection with rape, but police initially dropped the rape-related charge during their investigation, citing a lack of evidence.Proving intent to rape Lee is crucial to determining Jang’s punishment, as murder connected to rape carries a heavier penalty.The inspector accused of destroying evidence has reportedly claimed that he did not intend to lose the zip tie and that police were focused at the time on finding the murder weapon.Prosecutors are looking into whether the initial police investigation team destroyed evidence and whether officers leaked investigative information to Jang’s father.Lee’s mother urged investigators to examine whether Jang’s father’s status as a police inspector affected the investigation. She also called for stern punishment for those involved and the death penalty for Jang.