'Mapo Officetel Confinement Murder' Suspect in 20s Partially Denies Charges... "Not for Revenge"

Suspects An Mo and Kim Mo, accused of confining and killing a friend in an officetel, are leaving Mapo Police Station in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the morning of June 22 to be transferred to the prosecution.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Kim Mo (21) and Ahn Mo (21), who were indicted for confining and assaulting a man in his 20s to death in an officetel in Mapo-gu, Seoul, denied some of the charges at their first trial.

At the first pretrial hearing held on the 19th by the 12th Criminal Division of the Seoul Western District Court (Presiding Judge Andongbeom), the defense attorneys of Kim and Ahn stated, "There was no intent for retaliation and no intent to kill," denying the charges of retaliatory murder and retaliatory confinement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

Kim and Ahn were arrested and indicted last month on charges of taking the victim, A, to an officetel in Mapo-gu on March 31, confining him, and then assaulting and abusing him to death. Kim was a high school classmate of A.

They face charges including violation of the Act on the Punishment of Violent Acts (joint coercion, joint injury, joint extortion), kidnapping for profit, retaliatory murder, and retaliatory confinement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. They are accused of threatening A four times between September and November last year, forcing him to write false debt repayment contracts, and assaulting him with a vacuum cleaner and a mobile phone.

After the victim filed a criminal complaint against them for injury last year, they brought him from his hometown to Seoul in March this year, coerced him into signing a 'withdrawal of complaint contract,' and sent text messages to the police stating that the complaint was withdrawn. The prosecution believes that from April until the victim's death in June, they repeatedly assaulted and injured him, tied him up, confined him, and restricted his food, continuing to torment him.

When the victim collapsed due to deteriorating health, Kim and Ahn locked him in the bathroom, continued to spray water on his naked body, and eventually caused his death from pneumonia and malnutrition. The police discovered the victim dead in the officetel around 6 a.m. on June 13 and urgently arrested Kim and Ahn.

The defense attorneys also requested intelligence tests and psychological evaluations for Kim and Ahn from the court. Ahn's defense explained, "The defendant appears to have limited self-expression and judgment abilities," adding, "We are requesting an investigation into various circumstances regarding how an ordinarily raised defendant suddenly committed such a serious crime." They also stated that an investigation into the relationships among Ahn, the other defendant Kim, and the victim since their middle and high school days is necessary.

Their first trial will be held on the 28th of next month.

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