Police arrest suspects 21 years after fatal bank robbery

The Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency [JOONGANG PHOTO]

On Dec. 21, 2001, an employee of a KB Kookmin Bank was fatally shot in the parking lot of one of its branches in Daejeon, and the two men involved took off with 300 million won ($223,000).

More than two decades later, police have arrested the suspects.

On Saturday, the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency said they identified the suspects using DNA samples taken from the crime scene and requested arrest warrants for two men on charges of murder and robbery.

The Daejeon District Court issued arrest warrants on the same day for the two suspects, citing the risk of them fleeing or destroying evidence.

Around 10 a.m. on the day of the crime, one of the suspects shot the 43-year-old bank manager surnamed Kim in the underground parking lot of Kookmin Bank's Dunsan Branch in Daejeon's Seo District. The bank robbers took off in a black vehicle with the bag of cash.

Kim was taken to the hospital but later died.

The suspects took extra precautions not to be seen as they were masked, left no fingerprints behind and their escape vehicle's windows were triple-tinted.

The police were unable to identify the culprits, speculating that they were men in their 20s or 30s based on statements from security guards present at the scene.

In 2002, suspects were arrested, including a man in his 20s who claimed to be the culprit.

However, a court later found that the suspect made a false confession because of police torture, and dismissed the arrest warrants due to insufficient evidence.

The police set up a special team to investigate the case and finally identified the suspects after their DNA matched samples that were found at the scene.

The suspects have denied the allegations against them.

The Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency plans to hold a press briefing to explain the details of the case Thursday.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]