Police are reopening their investigation of the cause of the suicide of Jang Ja-yeon as a scandal surrounding allegations made in the document she left behind snowballs. Police had initially concluded she committed suicide while suffering from depression.
Police said they have now identified several people on a list the actress left behind of influential figures with whom her management agency allegedly forced her to have sex. Gyeonggi provincial police on Tuesday said they established a considerable part of Jang's final movements.
Investigators are looking into the cause of Jang's suicide based on her situation at the time, such as her uneasy relationship with the fugitive head of her management company, identified as Kim, aborted plans for a TV drama, and financial difficulties.
It has emerged that the explosive document had already been leaked before Jang died, and police suspect there was more than just depression behind her suicide, including her shock of finding the list had become public.
Police also said they secured additional documents related to the list, identifying 12 people involved altogether. Jang's family is suing seven people, her former manager Yoo Jang-ho and two journalists for tarnishing the memory of the dead, and four including Kim on the charge of sexual coercion. The newly obtained documents, police said, identify seven people, but two of them are already being sued by the family, meaning five people have newly become targets of the investigation.
