Fourth suspect named in Gangnam kidnap-murder case

Social Affairs

Published: 03 Apr. 2023, 16:16 Updated: 03 Apr. 2023, 19:18

Fourth suspect named in Gangnam kidnap-murder case

Three men accused of kidnapping and murdering a woman in her 40s in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, are escorted to the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho District on Monday morning to attend their arrest warrant reviews. They are also accused of dumping the victim's body near the Daecheong Dam in Daejeon. [YONHAP]

Another suspect has been named in the alleged kidnapping and murder of a 48-year-old woman in southern Seoul.

According to Suseo Police Precinct, the 24-year-old man said that he had been following the woman until last month after one of the other suspects asked him to help in January. The 24-year-old said he was not involved in the actual kidnapping or murder.

The three other suspects were detained by the police on Friday, around 42 hours after they allegedly kidnapped the woman in Seoul and fled to Daejeon. The Seoul Central District Court on Monday issued arrest warrants for the three.

A total of four people are now being held in the crime, which the police say began in Gangnam with the taking of the woman.

The suspects, a 30-year-old, a 36-year-old and a 35-year-old, allegedly kidnapped the woman last Wednesday at around 11:46 p.m. in front of an apartment complex in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam District, southern Seoul, killed her and dumped her body near Daecheong Dam in Daejeon on Friday.

The 35-year-old has been named by the others as the mastermind who directed the crime. On Monday, he told police he invested 80 million won ($60,800) in a cryptocurrency company where the woman used to work and he lost money from the investment. He also worked at the company for a while. He has denied all accusations.

According to the police, the 35-year-old leader proposed the kidnapping to the 36-year-old. The 36-year-old then proposed the idea to the 30-year-old, saying he would write off 36 million won of debt owed by the third suspect.

The 30-year-old, currently unemployed, has admitted that the plan was to rob the victim two to three months earlier, including the woman’s cryptocurrencies worth billions of won. The police have said he visited the Daecheong Dam beforehand.

According to police, a syringe was found in the vehicle the suspects allegedly used to kidnap the woman. The suspects confessed that they had injected anesthesia into the woman’s shoulders and legs multiple times in the car, which is believed to have been prepared by the 35-year-old.

The injected anesthesia is suspected to be ketamine, a very powerful drug that has some hallucinogenic effects.

The National Forensic Service on Saturday suspected suffocation as the cause of death, but a final determination will be made after forensic toxicology testing.

The three suspects on Monday morning appeared before the press for the first time while being escorted to Seoul Central District Court for their arrest warrant reviews. They all refused to answer questions on their way to court, while the 36-year-old briefly said he is “sorry.”

The police plan to expand the investigation and see if anyone else is involved.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]