Alleged murder masterminds transferred to prosecutors

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Alleged murder masterminds transferred to prosecutors

Suspects Yoo Sang-won, left, and Hwang Eun-hee, who allegedly masterminded the kidnapping and murder of a woman in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, leave Suseo Police Precinct in Gangnam on Thursday to be referred to prosecutors. [YONHAP]

Suspects Yoo Sang-won, left, and Hwang Eun-hee, who allegedly masterminded the kidnapping and murder of a woman in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, leave Suseo Police Precinct in Gangnam on Thursday to be referred to prosecutors. [YONHAP]

A couple allegedly involved in the kidnap and murder of a woman in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, were turned over to prosecutors on Thursday, marking an end of a two-week police investigation into the country’s biggest murder case of the year so far.
 
Police said both suspects — 51-year-old Yoo Sang-won and his wife, 49-year-old Hwang Eun-hee — denied all allegations against them during the probe.
 
The couple are among seven people who have been referred to the prosecution over the Gangnam murder.  
 
The identities of five people were revealed to the local press by police, a record number for a single criminal case since the system was adopted in 2010.
 
Among the seven people referred, only one hasn’t been physically detained, the wife of a key suspect who allegedly stole anesthetics from a plastic surgery clinic she used to work at to use on the victim.
 
Police said she allegedly handed her husband the drugs, knowing he would use them on the victim to kill her.
 
The couple transferred to prosecutors on Thursday, who were separately arrested by police on April 5 and last Saturday, are believed to be the masterminds of the Gangnam murder of a 48-year-old surnamed Choi, who ran a company advertising cryptocurrencies, including the controversial Puriever.
 
According to police, the couple and victim had been embroiled in a legal battle over losses incurred from a failed cryptocurrency investment in Puriever. The suspects were allegedly plotting to murder the victim’s husband as well, blaming the victim and her husband for their losses.
 
The token, which was worth 10,000 won in early 2021 on the Coinone exchange, plummeted to 10 won in just half a year and is now being investigated by local authorities for alleged price manipulation.  
 
Exactly how much the couple lost in the investment hasn’t been revealed.
 
Police believe the couple gave 36-year-old Lee Kyeong-woo a total of 70 million won ($53,000) from September to use for the murder of Choi.
 
Lee was among three men who kidnapped the victim on March 29 around midnight near an apartment complex in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam District, and abandoned her body near Daecheong Dam in Daejeon, about 140 kilometers (87 miles) south of Seoul.  
 
A witness reported the case to the police.
 
An autopsy on the victim revealed that she died of poisoning from an anesthetic substance.
 
Police didn’t reveal what the substance was, citing fear of copycat crimes, but said syringes were found inside a vehicle used in the crime.

BY CHOI SEO-IN, LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]
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