Police Prioritize Sending Lee Chun-jae Serial Murder '8th Case' Under Retrial to Prosecutors

On the morning of the 6th, Yoon Mo, the petitioner for retrial, appeared with his lawyers at the Suwon District Court in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, for the preparatory hearing of the retrial of the 8th case of the Lee Chun-jae serial murders. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The police, who are reinvestigating the serial murder case of Lee Chun-jae, will send the '8th case,' which is currently undergoing retrial procedures, to the prosecution.

The Southern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency's Lee Chun-jae Serial Murder Case Investigation Headquarters announced on the 6th that they will send Lee Chun-jae to the prosecution on charges including murder related to the 8th case. This is the first transfer since the fact that Lee Chun-jae was identified was revealed through the media four months ago in September last year.

Along with this, the police decided to send eight people, including prosecutors and police officers who investigated the case at the time, to the prosecution on charges such as abuse of authority, unlawful detention, and fabrication and use of false official documents.

The '8th case' refers to the incident on September 16, 1988, when Park Mo (then 13 years old) in Jinan-ri, Taean-eup, Hwaseong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, was sexually assaulted and strangled to death at her home. At the time, the police pointed to Yoon Mo as the real culprit based on the radioactive isotope analysis results from the National Forensic Service. Yoon claimed innocence in the second and third trials but was ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment, served 20 years, and was paroled in 2009.

The case, which was believed to have caught the real culprit, began to reveal the truth to the world only after Lee Chun-jae's confession. Lee Chun-jae testified about the circumstances of the crime, saying, "I was drinking at a neighborhood convenience store and on my way home, I saw a house with the gate open. I looked inside through a hole in the door paper and saw a woman sleeping, so I went in."

The eight people sent together this time, including A, the head of the criminal division of the police station in charge at the time, and prosecutor B, are suspected of committing harsh acts against Yoon during the investigation. The police investigators, including A, illegally arrested and assaulted Yoon and deprived him of sleep, while B is reported to have allowed the police to detain Yoon for 75 hours without legal grounds.

Yoon claims that he could not endure such harsh treatment and gave a false confession. In November last year, Yoon filed for a retrial at the Suwon District Court, which accepted it, officially starting the retrial process. To facilitate the smooth progress of the retrial, the police decided to transfer the case before the retrial officially began and plan to complete the transfer of the 8th case on the day of the first preparatory hearing.

However, the statute of limitations for Lee Chun-jae and others has expired, so actual punishment will not be carried out. Therefore, once the case is handed over to the prosecution, it is expected to be closed due to lack of prosecutorial rights.

Considering that the retrial is ongoing, only the 8th case will be transferred first, and the remaining cases will be transferred collectively later. A police official said, "We will do our best to investigate thoroughly so that no suspicions remain and the truth can be fully uncovered."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.