Man charged with murder of taxi driver, ex-girlfriend makes first public appearance

Murder suspect Lee Ki-young is escorted by the police in Ilsan, Gyeonggi, on Wednesday before getting on a van to the prosecutors' office. [YONHAP]

The man charged with murdering a taxi driver and his ex-girlfriend appeared in public for the first time since his arrest last week.

The 31-year-old Lee Ki-young tried to hide his face by pulling a hood over his head as police delivered him for questioning Wednesday.

“I am sorry,” Lee told reporters at the Ilsan Dongbu Police Agency in Gyeonggi.

“I am sorry for the murders I committed,” Lee added when asked what he was apologizing for.

He denied there were any additional victims.

Lee remained silent during most of the questioning by reporters. Then he was escorted by police to a van.

People were eager to see Lee’s face after reports that the picture released by police on Dec. 29, which came from his driver’s license, looked nothing like him.

Under current law, police cannot force a suspect to uncover their face when facing the press.

“We talked to Lee about taking off the mask,” said a police officer, “but he refused.”

According to the police officer, Lee was concerned that his family would find out about his alleged crimes.

While turning Lee over to prosecutors, police revealed Lee was facing an additional charge of robbery. They suspect that the motive for his crimes may have been a dire financial situation.

Police found a contract between Lee and his ex-girlfriend, whom he says he murdered, that shows Lee borrowed 300 million won ($235,700) from the missing woman.

Police continued their search for her body on Wednesday but with little success. Lee has repeatedly changed his story about where he disposed of her body.

He first claimed that he threw the body into a stream in Paju, but recently changed his story to say he buried her on the banks of the stream.

According to the police, the National Forensic Service on Tuesday found DNA from four different people from blood traces and hair in the apartment where Lee lived, raising the possibility of additional victims.

The DNA belongs to one man and three women.

The police said that they are matching the DNA with people close to Lee including his mother and current girlfriend.

Lee’s current girlfriend found the body of a taxi driver who had been missing for six days in a closet where Lee was living while searching for cat food and called the police. That’s how he was caught.

Lee is accused of murdering the taxi driver after smashing into his car, possibly while inebriated. He allegedly told the 60-year-old taxi driver that he would compensate him if he did not call the police but said he must come to his home in Paju, Gyeonggi, to collect the money, the police said.

Lee claims he and the driver got into an argument at his home, and he killed him and hid his body in a closet.

While being questioned, Lee confessed to killing his ex-girlfriend in August.

Lee is also charged with fraud for allegedly using the credit cards of his two victims and taking out loans in the girlfriend’s name, approximately 70 million won in total, after murdering them.

If convicted, Lee could face life imprisonment or the death penalty.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO, JEON ICK-JIN [cho.jungwoo@joongang.co.kr]