Man kills his girlfriend, then stores her corpse in a kimchi fridge for nearly a year
Published: 13 Nov. 2025, 16:22
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A man confessed in court that he killed his girlfriend, placed her body in a bag and stored it in a kimchi refrigerator for nearly a year.
The defendant pleaded guilty to charges of murder, abandonment or concealment of a dead body and fraud involving the use of a computer during the first trial held on Thursday at the Gunsan branch of the Jeonju District Court.
According to prosecutors, the defendant strangled his girlfriend to death on Oct. 20 last year at a residence in Jochon-dong, Gunsan, North Jeolla. The two had been in a relationship for four years.
To cover up the murder, the defendant continued to send messages to the victim’s family with her phone. The defendant also took out a loan of 88 million won ($60,000) under the victim's name and used the money for his living expenses.
The victim's younger sister became suspicious when she noticed that the victim would only communicate through texts and reported her missing to the police in September.
When police later contacted the victim’s phone, the defendant had another woman — whom he was living with — answer the call. However, the woman admitted under police questioning that she was not the victim, leading to the discovery of the crime.
Police said the victim's body was found relatively intact due to the defendant setting the kimchi refrigerator to minus 32 degrees Celsius (minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit).
During questioning, the defendant told the police that he had killed the victim in a fit of rage after she belittled him for not following her stock investment advice.
During Thursday's trial, the defendant's lawyer requested a delay in proceedings to allow more time to negotiate a settlement with the victim's family. The court acknowledged the request but noted that the victim's family had already submitted a letter demanding a heavy sentence and expressing no intent to settle.
The next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 11.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM EUN-BIN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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