Late Jang Ja-yeon, 14th anniversary, still unresolved suspicions

This is the 14th death anniversary of the late actress Jang Ja-yeon.

The deceased passed away at the age of 30 on March 7, 2009 at his home in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do.

Jang Ja-yeon, who debuted in the entertainment industry as a commercial model in 2006, made a mark on the public through the KBS 2TV drama 'Boys Over Flowers', which aired in 2009. He also played the role of an aspiring actor in the movie ‘Penthouse Elephant’, which was released in November 2009.

The suicide note left by the deceased, who passed away due to an extreme choice, was shocking as it contained information that he was forced to pay sexual favors by figures in politics, media and broadcasting. Based on the will, the bereaved family filed a complaint, but only the agency representative, Mr. A, and the manager were punished, and the case ended with no charges against other personnel.

Afterwards, in May 2018, the Prosecutor's Past History Committee under the Ministry of Justice, which was investigating the Jang Ja-yeon case, recommended that the prosecution re-investigate this case, and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office fact-finding team began re-investigating the 'Jang Ja-yeon List' case nine years after the incident, once again becoming a hot topic. It's done.

Regarding the 'Jang Ja-yeon list', the Past History Committee concluded in May 2019, "It is highly likely that Jang Ja-yeon's documents are true, but the reality of the so-called entertainment list has not been confirmed," but related suspicions still remain.

Meanwhile, Mr. A, who was the representative of the recently deceased's agency, submitted a petition to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission) regarding the incident and claimed his innocence, complaining that he had been stigmatized as a perpetrator and suffered for about 10 years. At the same time, he strongly urged the Ministry of Justice to block the disclosure of the 'Jang Ja-yeon List case investigation and deliberation results' posted on its website in 2019.

Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr