Yoon Seong-yeo Acquitted in Lee Chun-jae 8th Case... Court: "No Evidence to Prove Guilt" (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Jo] In the retrial of the 8th serial murder case involving Lee Chun-jae, which sparked controversy over the true culprit, the retrial petitioner Yoon Seong-yeo (53) was acquitted. On the 17th, the Criminal Division 12 of Suwon District Court (Presiding Judge Park Jeong-je) acquitted Yoon in the retrial verdict hearing of this case. The court stated, "A wrong judgment was made due to the negligence of past investigative agencies." It added, "As a member of the judiciary, we apologize to the defendant who suffered great mental and physical pain during a long period of imprisonment," and "We hope this verdict will help restore the defendant's honor."

On the afternoon of the 17th, at the Suwon District Court in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, Yoon Seong-yeo, the petitioner for retrial in the 8th case of the Lee Chun-jae serial murders, was acquitted and is seen leaving the courthouse while sharing his thoughts. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The confession obtained through illegal arrest and detention itself is unlawful

The court judged that Yoon’s police confession was obtained through harsh treatment while under illegal arrest and detention, and thus lacks evidentiary value. During the 8th Lee Chun-jae case, the police reportedly subjected the defendant to harsh treatment such as sleep deprivation for three days, squatting jumps, and repeatedly sitting down and standing up to extract the confession. Additionally, since Yoon had difficulty reading and writing, the police made him write the statement as dictated. The court said, "The procedure for preparing the statement was illegal and cannot be used as evidence."

The court also focused on the fact that Yoon’s confession did not match objective evidence such as the crime scene. The police statement from Yoon at the time recorded that Yoon entered the victim’s house by climbing over the wall because the front gate was locked, but the on-site verification report stated that the front gate had no lock. The court also found it hard to believe the statement that Yoon, who has a disability in his left leg due to polio, "climbed over the wall without much difficulty."

On the other hand, the court judged that the confession of Lee Chun-jae, who was identified as the true culprit in this case, was highly credible as it matched objective evidence. Lee Chun-jae appeared as a witness in the retrial on the 2nd of last month and reaffirmed the 14 murders and about 30 sexual crimes he had confessed to.

The court also stated that the forensic report from the National Forensic Service, which identified the hair found at the crime scene as Yoon’s, could not be trusted. At the time, the National Forensic Service assessed that the hair found at the scene was blood type B and morphologically similar to Yoon’s hair. However, the court said, "The basis for this judgment is unclear, and there are errors and contradictions in the content, so the results cannot be trusted," and "Since not all hair found at the crime scene was analyzed, it cannot be concluded that the culprit is blood type B."

Lee Chun-jae, selected as a witness in the retrial of the 8th serial murder case by Lee Chun-jae [Image source=Yonhap News]

Criminal compensation for falsely accused Yoon Seong-yeo estimated at 1.7 billion KRW

The 8th Lee Chun-jae case refers to the incident on September 16, 1988, in Jinan-ri, Taean-eup, Hwaseong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, where a 13-year-old girl named Park was sexually assaulted and murdered. Yoon, who was arrested as a prime suspect the following year, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial. He denied the charges during appeals, but the second and third trial courts dismissed them all. After serving 20 years and being paroled in 2009, Yoon filed for retrial in November last year following Lee Chun-jae’s confession, and the court accepted it in January this year, deciding to commence the retrial.

The retrial was held 13 times in total, starting with the first preparatory hearing on February 1 and concluding with the verdict hearing on this day. Twenty-one witnesses, including officials from investigative agencies and forensic experts, appeared. Since the court acquitted Yoon in accordance with the opinions of both the prosecution and defense, no appeal is expected. If neither side appeals within the one-week appeal period, the verdict will be finalized as is.

Once the acquittal is finalized, Yoon will receive criminal compensation for the 20 years of wrongful imprisonment. Criminal compensation, which can be claimed from the state when a criminal suspect or defendant is detained but later acquitted or not prosecuted, is possible up to five times the minimum wage of the year the acquittal is made. Having served 19 years and 6 months, Yoon is expected to receive approximately 1.76 billion KRW in criminal compensation. Separately, he can also claim damages against the state or others.

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