Police said Wednesday they will reinvestigate the death of a female college student whose mother's plea for a fair probe led to an online rally by thousands of supporters.
The mother of the victim said in a posting Friday on Daum, a major portal site, that her daughter was beaten to death by two men who tried to rape her, but the police refused to conduct a thorough probe because one of the suspects was a relative of a former police officer.
The victim, identified only by her last name Shin and 19 at the time of the crime in August 2009, was introduced to the two men by her friend, the mother said. After having drinks together, the men followed Shin and tried to rape her, but when she resisted, they beat her to death, the mother wrote. Shin was taken to an emergency room but died about an hour after the incident, she said.
One of the suspects, a soldier, was sent to military prosecutors and convicted only on assault charges, while the other suspect, whose uncle was a former police officer, was only questioned and soon released, she said, and all petitions for a reinvestigation were dismissed.
"Why did they beat my daughter to death whom they just met?" the mother said. "After facing such an unfair case, I wrote this article on the Internet because I would be ashamed when I see my daughter in heaven."
As of late Wednesday, nearly 4,000 people had signed the online petition calling for the reopening of the case.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) on Wednesday said it has established a special team for a new probe into the case.
"The SMPA decided to reinvestigate the case as it is necessary to clarify the truth (of the case) on several allegations," the agency said in a release. "We will thoroughly investigate the case so as not to leave any suspicion."