Reinvestigation of Lee Chun-jae Serial Murder Case Ends with 'No Prosecution Due to Expired Statute of Limitations'

Yoon Seong-yeo, Wrongly Imprisoned as Suspect in Lee Chun-jae's 8th Case, Acquitted

Investigation of the Lee Chun-jae Serial Murder Case / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The reinvestigation of the Lee Chun-jae serial murder case has concluded with a 'no prosecution' disposition due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. As a result, Lee Chun-jae, who confessed to committing 14 murders, and all nine investigative officials, including police officers and prosecutors accused of illegal acts during the investigation of the so-called 'Lee Chun-jae 8th murder case,' have all escaped punishment.

The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 28th that after receiving 23 cases, including 14 murders and 9 sexual assault and robbery cases confessed by Lee Chun-jae (57), from the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency on July 2, they concluded the investigation.

Lee Chun-jae had testified to the police last year that he committed 14 consecutive murders from September 1986 to April 1991 in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, and other locations.

At that time, he also confessed to 34 sexual crimes and robberies, but except for 9 cases for which victim testimonies were secured, the other cases were excluded from the transfer.

Regarding his motive, Lee Chun-jae reportedly stated, "I did not have any particular plan or thought when I committed the murders," and "I did it as if it were part of daily life." He also reportedly said about the sexual crimes that he felt satisfaction from having women under his control during the crimes.

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 serial murder case of Lee Chun-jae, was acquitted and is leaving the courtroom. / Photo by Yonhap News

The prosecution explained that although all 23 cases confessed by Lee Chun-jae were recognized as offenses, they were clearly beyond the statute of limitations, resulting in a 'no prosecution' disposition.

Additionally, the prosecution issued the same 'no prosecution' disposition for nine investigative officials, including police officers and prosecutors, who were accused of illegal acts during the investigation of the Lee Chun-jae 8th murder case, the Hwaseong elementary school student disappearance case.

The 8th case involved the incident on September 16, 1988, in Taean-eup, Hwaseong, where a girl named Park (then 13) was found sexually assaulted and dead.

At that time, the investigative officials pointed to Yoon Seong-yeo (53) as the culprit of the Lee Chun-jae 8th case and were accused of illegally arresting, detaining, beating, and mistreating him.

Among these officials, one police officer is also accused of hiding part of the remains of Kim (then 8), who disappeared after school on July 7, 1989, in Taean-eup, Hwaseong, during the investigation of the so-called 'Hwaseong elementary school student disappearance case.'

This case had been classified as a simple disappearance until Lee Chun-jae's confession revealed belatedly that he had murdered Kim.

Meanwhile, earlier, the Suwon District Court acquitted Yoon, who had been wrongfully imprisoned for 19 years and 6 months as the culprit of the 8th case and filed for a retrial, on the 17th. The prosecution did not appeal, and on the 24th, the acquittal of Yoon was finalized.

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