"Serial Killer Choi Seong-jong, Who Asked Wife and Children for Help, Left a 'Voice Will' on His Cellphone... Also Criticized as a Sentence Reduction Strategy"

The personal information of Choi Sin-jong (31), a suspect arrested on charges of murdering two women who went missing in Jeonju, Jeonbuk, and Busan, was released on the 20th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Choi Sinjong (31), who was arrested on charges of murdering two women who went missing in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do, and Busan, is reported to have left a 'suicide note' in the form of voice files on his mobile phone. However, since the voice files were recorded after killing the first woman, there are opinions that he recorded them with the intention of receiving a favorable judgment in sentencing during the upcoming trial.

According to Yonhap News on the 24th, Choi Sinjong stored about 10 voice files of the suicide note on his mobile phone in the early morning of the 15th of last month. The total length of the combined voice files is about 1 minute and 40 seconds.

The recorded files reportedly contain messages to family and acquaintances such as "Thank you so much all this time" and "Please take good care of my wife and children." It is known that Choi recorded these files the day after killing the missing woman A (34) in Jeonju.

However, investigations revealed that Choi Sinjong showed behavior different from someone contemplating an extreme choice afterward.

Two days after the recording, on the 17th of last month, Choi's wife reported to 119 (emergency services) that her husband was showing symptoms of drug overdose at home. However, when 119 arrived, Choi strongly refused to be transported to the hospital, and the 119 personnel reportedly withdrew after observing his reaction.

After his arrest, Choi told the police about the situation on the 17th when 119 was called, saying, "I took the antidepressants prescribed to my wife," but his wife testified that "the amount of antidepressants I take did not decrease."

Choi Sinjong killed the missing woman B (29) in Busan on the 18th of last month, one day after the 119 report. He committed another crime three days after creating the voice files in the form and content of a suicide note.

On the 25th of last month, when he was urgently arrested by the police and detained in a jail cell, he also self-harmed. At that time, Choi asked the detention center staff for a pen, saying "I want to write a letter," and then self-harmed, but it is known that only a slight scratch remained on his neck.

Choi Sinjong is accused of strangling A, a friend of his wife, to death on the night of the 14th of last month, disposing of the body near a river the next morning, and also killing B, a woman he met through a random chat app in Busan.

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