The latest episode of E Channel’s ‘Brave Detectives 5’, which aired on the 15th at 9:50 PM, featured Inspector Kang Seung-wan from the Gangwon Goseong Police Station, former Senior Superintendent Yoon Oe-chul, and Officer Kim Jin-soo from the KCSI, who shared gripping behind-the-scenes stories from their investigations.
The first case began with a frantic call from a husband whose wife, with whom he lived as a “weekend couple,” had not returned home. Upon arriving, police found clear signs of an intruder in the home’s bathroom, including diesel spills, cigarette ash, and muddy footprints.
Police focused on the fact that the husband, a wealthy individual with assets worth 40 billion won, had recently earned 3 billion won in cash from selling a building. Suspecting a planned kidnapping for money, they noted that the victim’s credit card was being used at nearby marts and for cash withdrawals.
By tracking a silver rental car through CCTV, police arrested a gang led by a man named Kim (pseudonym), a convicted felon for robbery and injury, and safely rescued the terrified victim. At the time of rescue, the victim’s eyes and mouth were covered with blue tape, and her hands and feet were tightly bound. It was a chilling situation, as the criminals even knew the husband’s name and bank account password, nearly leading to further losses.
The most shocking part was that the mastermind was the manager of the sauna operated by the husband. Having been prison mates with Kim, the manager leaked the owner’s assets and daily routine. He had previously asked the husband for money but was rejected after being lectured, leading him to seek revenge. As a result, Kim was sentenced to 9 years in prison, three accomplices received 6, 4, and 3.5 years respectively, and the mastermind manager was sentenced to 5 years.
The second case was a persistent pursuit where the suspect was identified just one day after the missing person report, but the final arrest took two whole months.
The victim was a 21-year-old female employee at a jewelry store who vanished after going to work on a Friday. The investigation team found financial records showing 4.1 million won being withdrawn in 14 separate transactions immediately after her disappearance. The culprit, who carefully hid his face with a mask and hat, slightly lowered his mask during the final withdrawal, providing the crucial clue to his identity.
The man in the CCTV turned out to be the 28-year-old older brother of a coworker at the jewelry store. Police tracked their movements from a pub to a motel on the day of the crime. The footage captured the horrifying scenes of the victim being dragged by force and the culprit loading something into a car trunk.
Police discovered a suspicious mound of soil in a cornfield behind the suspect’s childhood home. After a persistent stakeout, the team arrested the suspect near his sister’s residence 57 days after the disappearance. They immediately dug up the cornfield and recovered the victim’s body, curled up inside a sack and still wearing the clothes she had on when she vanished.
The culprit claimed they were in a relationship and that the crime happened accidentally after an argument, a baseless claim that sparked intense anger from MCs Yoon Doojoon and Kwak Sun-young. Despite his shameless excuses, the perpetrator was handed a heavy sentence of 20 years in prison.
