The 9th episode of T-Cast E-Channel’s ‘Brave Detectives 5,’ aired on the 22nd, featured Inspector Kim Soon-cheol from the Gyeonggi Southern Provincial Police Agency’s Wide-area Investigation Unit, Inspector Kang Dong-guk from Namwon Police Station’s Detective Team 1, and Inspector Kim In-gu from Namwon Police Station’s Detective Team 2.
The episode highlighted a case where the same culprit had to be arrested twice. A detective explained, “He fled while waiting for transfer after hearing the first-instance sentence. After a pursuit, we caught him again 11 hours later.” Yoon Du-jun added, “Even after being caught twice, the culprit showed no remorse and made excuses, claiming he wanted to meet a loved one before turning himself in.”
The case began in 2005 when a mother reported her daughter missing after she went out to meet friends. The daughter, a 25-year-old flight attendant, had a flight to Spain scheduled for the next afternoon but never returned home and lost contact. According to acquaintances she had been drinking with, they parted ways around 1 AM. The victim, heavily intoxicated and having lost her phone, boarded a taxi.
Although she lived only five minutes away by car, suspicions grew when 1.01 million won was withdrawn five hours after she entered the taxi, followed by another 4.36 million won the next evening. ATM CCTV captured a man wearing a hat and mask withdrawing the cash. Five days after the missing person report, her body was discovered in a roadside snow removal box. While there were no signs of assault or stab wounds, ligature marks on her neck indicated strangulation.
Since the body was found in an area with many snow removal boxes and low traffic, police suspected a taxi driver who knew the geography well. After questioning people near where the victim last boarded a taxi, a witness mentioned a white mid-sized taxi. Among drivers of white mid-sized taxis with criminal records, 38-year-old Mr. Min (pseudonym) became a prime suspect as his GPS records included both the body disposal site and the cash withdrawal locations. A tachometer check revealed the taxi was stationary during the cash withdrawal times. Mr. Min had nine prior convictions, including six for robbery, and had been released from prison only seven months prior. Detectives arrested him using GPS tracking.
Forensic analysis of the taxi revealed one of the victim’s black high heels and a shoelace under the passenger seat. After initially denying the crime, Mr. Min confessed once evidence surfaced, stating, “At first, I strangled her with my hands, but she woke up, so I strangled her again with a shoelace.” This left Kwak Sun-young furious, noting, “He has absolutely no guilt.”
Mr. Min claimed he tried to steal her money because she was merely annoyed when he got irritated by her vomiting in the taxi, and he killed her fearing she would report him. It was later confirmed that he used the victim’s card for cash services and spent her money on entertainment with a lover. Shockingly, DNA evidence revealed additional charges of robbery-rape. Ultimately, Mr. Min was sentenced to life imprisonment.
The next case involved a 30-year-old woman who lived alone and operated a pub in the city. She was presumed to have been attacked while returning home after closing her business late at night. Her bag was missing, and only an umbrella and a red women’s bicycle, which did not belong to her, were left at the scene.
On the third day of the investigation, the victim’s bag was found in the restroom of an adult arcade. While investigating the arcade and nearby businesses, police found that a 24-year-old man had been hospitalized after drinking pesticide shortly after the incident. He was a newlywed railway official who claimed the pesticide ingestion was an accident, and scars were visible on his body.
Then, 42 days after the incident, a report was filed that an elementary school girl had nearly been kidnapped and sexually assaulted. A car had suddenly stopped on her way home from school, and the driver offered her a ride. As soon as she entered, he locked the doors and attempted the assault with a knife. The child managed to escape and remembered the culprit’s red car and interior details.
A similar vehicle was found near the police substation where the report was made, parked in an area used as an office by railway employees. The owner of the car was Mr. Choi (pseudonym), the man who had ingested pesticide. Furthermore, the knife used against the child was identical to the handle of the knife found at the murder scene. Mr. Choi did not resist when urgently arrested on charges of attempted sexual assault and eventually confessed in tears after intense interrogation. Two knives were missing from a set found at his home, and the remaining three raised suspicions of further crimes.
Mr. Choi claimed the motive was money. He said his older brother had disappeared after using cards in Choi’s name, leaving him with debts of about 10 million won, which led him to commit robbery to pay them off. Ahn Jung-hwan expressed anger, stating, “That’s a ridiculous excuse.”
Mr. Choi testified that he targeted the woman because she looked wealthy, and when she screamed during his knife threat, he killed her and stole 20,000 won. He later attempted suicide by drinking pesticide but spat it out due to the strong smell, and evidence showed him heading to an adult arcade afterward. Mr. Choi was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial, but this was reduced to 15 years in the second trial. This result came after he reached a settlement with the victim’s family and his claim of diminished capacity due to glue sniffing at the time of the crime was accepted.
