Category: crime & punishment

The man who murdered a South Korean tourist on Guam has been found dead by suicide and the driver of the getaway vehicle has been arrested. I figured an island that small with all the cameras around the criminals would be found:

A man suspected of fatally shooting a South Korean tourist during a robbery last week in Guam was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and his alleged getaway driver was in custody, police in the U.S. territory said Tuesday.

Police said the first suspect was found dead inside a parked car Tuesday night, KUAM-TV reported. Police won’t release his name until his family has been notified. 

A second man believed to have been the driver of the SUV allegedly used in the deadly Jan. 4 robbery was found in a game room and taken into custody, police said.

Associated Press

You can read more at the link, but both were unsurprisingly long time criminals.

It will be interesting to see what more comes out about the motivations for the stabbing of Lee Jae-myung. Was this guy really a right wing wacko posing as a Democratic Party member as many online are portraying him?:

The man apprehended for attacking Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, a 67-year-old individual surnamed Kim, is taken to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency. (Yonhap)

The real estate agent surnamed Kim who attacked Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday in Busan has been found to have been a member of the People Power Party (PPP) for several years before joining the Democratic Party 10 months ago.

Kim’s acquaintances have testified that he frequently joined the far-right “Taegeukgi rallies” and enjoyed watching political content on YouTube.

The police, in connection to the statements made by Kim’s acquaintances about his party membership, checked relevant materials with the cooperation of the PPP and the Democratic Party after obtaining a search warrant from the court on Wednesday.

Article 24 of the Political Parties Act stipulates that the roster of party members “shall not be subject to inspection, with the exception of the case where a court requests it in the interests of a judgment, and where an election management commission concerned wants to confirm a matter pertaining to a party member.” It also states that a writ issued by a judge is compulsory in the event of a criminal investigation.

According to officials from both the PPP and the Democratic Party, Kim was a member of the United Future Party, the predecessor of the PPP, and joined the Democratic Party in March 2023 and remained a member until recently.

A Democratic Party official stated that Kim was “known to be a local party member in Asan, South Chungcheong Province.”

Hankyoreh

You can read more at the link.

If you are wondering why police are not disclosing more information about the political ideology of the suspect who stabbed Lee Jae-myung, it is because of a law that prevents them from doing so:

The decision by the police not to disclose the political affiliations of the man who attacked Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), with a knife, has sparked controversy. The DPK has criticized law enforcement authorities for sharing investigative information selectively.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency announced, Monday, that its identity disclosure committee would convene a meeting on Tuesday to determine whether to release the personal information of the 67-year-old male suspect, identified so far only by the surname Kim.

If the committee decides in favor of further disclosure, Kim’s full name, age and photo will be released.

However, the police stressed that the history of his political affiliations would remain undisclosed, irrespective of the committee’s decision.

“Technically, it cannot be disclosed as per relevant laws. We are currently discussing with the prosecution about the matter. But if we disclose (his political affiliations), there could be penalties,” an official at the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency said during a press briefing.

The official was referring to the Political Parties Act, which bans investigative bodies from publicly sharing information about a suspect’s political affiliations that could be ascertained during investigations. Violation of this law may lead to imprisonment of up to three years.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but police could face up to 3-years in jail if they released the information.

Here is the latest on the Lee Jae-myung stabbing, the criminal who committed the crime may have had an accomplice:

The suspect behind the stabbing attack against opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is seen being escorted to a court on Jan. 4, 2024, for a hearing. (Yonhap)

 Police have detained a man in his 70s for investigation on suspicions of aiding and abetting the suspect in the stabbing attack against opposition leader Lee Jae-myung, officials said Monday.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency said the man was put under emergency detention the previous day on suspicions of helping the 67-year-old assailant, identified by his surname Kim, commit the crime, even though he was aware of the attack plan.

Kim stabbed Lee, chairman of the Democratic Party (DP), in the neck with a camping knife in the southeastern city of Busan on Jan. 2. Lee underwent surgery to repair a major vein in his neck and has since been recovering at a hospital in Seoul.

Ahead of the crime, Kim had written an “excuse letter” to explain the motive of his crime and his political beliefs, and the 70-something man agreed to send the letter on Kim’s behalf by mail to an unspecified location, according to police.

Police plan to question him over whether he colluded with Kim in connection with the stabbing attack.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The Tsubaki Tower area of Tumon Beach is actually a pretty nice tourism area on the island with some expensive resorts. These criminals must have figured anyone walking down the sidewalk there must of had money on them. Hopefully the Guam authorities catch whoever did this:

Police tape is seen wrapped around a pole in front of Tsubaki Towers in Tamuning, Guam, Jan. 5, after a fatal shooting on the previous day. AP-Yonhap

The authorities in the U.S. territory of Guam vowed Friday to bring to justice those who fatally shot a Korean visitor in a tourist district.

The shooting occurred shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday when the traveler and his wife were walking toward Tsubaki Towers, a hotel on Guam’s popular Tumon Bay, from nearby Gun Beach, KUAM-TV reported, citing police.

An older model, dark-colored SUV approached them from behind, Guam Police Chief Stephen Ignacio said at a news conference.

A passenger holding a gun got of the vehicle and demanded they hand over their belongings, Ignacio said, adding, “A struggle ensued.”

The victim was taken to Guam Regional Medical City, where he died from his injuries the next morning. He had been visiting Guam while celebrating his retirement.

The Guam Visitors Bureau has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The police have caught the people who actually committed the crime, but not the person who paid them to do it yet:

Police are hunting down the mastermind who commissioned a teen to spray paint 44-meter-long graffiti on the walls of a historic palace in central Seoul earlier this month, officials said Tuesday.

A 17-year-old, only identified by his surname Im, was arrested last week after spray painting the phrase “free movie” in Korean on both sides of the western gate to Gyeongbok Palace and palace walls near the National Palace Museum of Korea on Dec. 16. 

Investigators have since found that Im was paid 100,000 won to commit the crime.

In an effort to track down the mastermind, police have conducted digital forensics on Im’s mobile phone, looked into the bank account used for the crime, and are scrutinizing the dialogue the two had on the messenger Telegram, according to national police chief Yoon Hee-keun.

But officials said they are having difficulty tracking down the mastermind due to strong security features of the messaging app and its server being based overseas.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It is good to see that the police caught the idiots responsible for putting graffiti on the Gyeongbok Palace walls. Hopefully they receive strict punishment to serve as a deterrent to anyone else thinking of doing this as well:

Police on Tuesday arrested two teenagers for drawing 44-meter-long graffiti on the walls of a historic palace in central Seoul last weekend, officials said. 

Police caught a 17-year-old male at his home in Suwon, 30 kilometers south of Seoul, on Tuesday evening before arresting his 16-year-old female accomplice nearby minutes later, according to the Seoul Jongno Police Station.

On Saturday, the suspects repeatedly sprayed the phrase “free movie” in Korean with red and blue paint on both sides of the western gate to Gyeongbok Palace and palace walls near the National Palace Museum of Korea.

Also sprayed were the names of illegal video-sharing and streaming platforms, with similar graffiti also found on the walls of the nearby Seoul Metropolitan Agency.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This guy is lucky to be alive and will likely be spending some time in jail for surviving this fall:

An inflatable jump bag is set up in front of an apartment building in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang, on Monday after a man started engaging in a standoff while holding his ex-girlfriend hostage at knifepoint. [NEWS1]

A man in his 20s, who had been holding his ex-girlfriend hostage at knifepoint on Monday, jumped off an apartment building from a staircase between the sixth and seventh floors of the building. 
  
According to South Gyeongsang police, the incident took place in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang, at around 2 p.m. 
  
The man engaged in a four-hour standoff with the police before jumping from the building.

He struck an exterior structure of the apartment on the third floor before landing on an air mattress laid on the first floor. 
  
He was taken to a hospital by first responders. 
  
The police said that the man was undergoing court proceedings for stalking his ex-girlfriend.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

This arrest makes me wonder how many countries and how long these thieves have been pickpocketing people?:

Police arrest three Russian nationals suspected of pickpocketing at a subway station in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, on Nov.13. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN POLICE AGENCY]

Prosecutors on Thursday indicted three Russian nationals suspected of pickpocketing subway riders for two weeks in Seoul, their office said Monday. 
  
The three Russian nationals, comprising two men aged 45 and a woman aged 38, entered Korea on a tourist visa on Nov. 1. 
  
The police said the three individuals focused on finding victims among subway riders during rush hour.

They mainly targeted women with handbags, approaching them in a coordinated manner, with one person standing in front of the victim to impede movement while another created distraction among the surrounding crowd so that the third person could pick up the victim’s purse. 
  
The three-member group was apprehended by the police on Nov. 13 who were on a stakeout. 
  
Authorities found that the three had collectively spent 45 hours riding the subway over nine days since their arrival in Seoul. 
  
The police estimated that the three stole a total of 7.13 million won ($5,400), including 5.6 million won in cash, in addition to three mobile phones.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Guys like this need a swift death penalty for such a brutal crime:

Choi Yun-jong, the suspect behind the rape and murder of a woman in Seoul’s Sillim neighborhood, speaks to reporters at the Seoul Gwanak Police Station, in this file photo taken Aug. 25, 2023. (Yonhap)

Prosecutors on Monday demanded the death penalty for a 30-year-old suspect behind the attempted rape and killing of a woman on a hiking trail in southern Seoul.

Choi Yun-jong was indicted on charges of fatally beating, throttling and attempting to rape the victim he randomly picked on a hillside hiking trail in the Sillim neighborhood on Aug. 17.

In the final hearing at Seoul Central District Court, prosecutors demanded the death penalty for Choi, arguing that he poses a high risk to society if released without any sign of repentance.

Prosecutors also stressed that he caused irrevocable damage to the family members of the victim and said there is a need to show that anyone who causes such crime would face heavy punishment.

The victim, an elementary school teacher in her 30s, had been left unaided for around 20 minutes before being found by the police and moved to a hospital. She died two days later due to brain damage caused by the strangulation.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.