'Serial Murder by Sex Offender'... Police Confirming Facts of "Financial Relationship" Statement

Sex Crime Determined Not to Be Motivated
Mr. Kang and Victim Were Acquainted

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] The police investigating the case of Kang Mo (56), who cut off his electronic monitoring device (electronic anklet) and fled after killing two women, have secured statements indicating that the crime was committed due to financial issues and are verifying the facts.

A Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency official said at a press briefing held on the 30th at the Seoul Police Agency in Naejadong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, "The motive for the crime is important, and we are in the process of verifying whether the statements are true," adding, "It has been determined that the sexual crime is not the motive, and we are currently verifying the facts regarding the statement about financial relations."

Regarding the relationship between Kang and the victims, the official said, "Both victims knew Kang, but it is not appropriate to specify the nature of their relationship," and added, "So far, there is no connection between the victims." He also stated, "Currently, it is understood that there are no accomplices."

Earlier, on the 27th, Kang cut off his electronic anklet and fled on a street in Sincheon-dong, Songpa-gu. After discarding the anklet near Mongchontoseong Station on Subway Line 8, he drove a rental car to Seoul Station, abandoned the vehicle, and disappeared. Kang later surrendered to the Songpa Police Station around 8 a.m. the following day and confessed during police interrogation that he had killed two women.

Kang stated that he killed one person before fleeing and another during his escape, and it is known that he surrendered believing the crime would soon be discovered and he would be caught by the police. The police have secured statements that Kang killed the first victim between 9:30 and 10 p.m. on the 26th and the second victim around 3 a.m. the following day after cutting off the anklet, and are verifying the facts. The victims are reported to be women in their 40s and 50s, respectively.

The police confirmed that after abandoning the rental car, Kang took the subway and got off at Gimpo Airport. Additionally, through closed-circuit television (CCTV) analysis, they secured Kang’s mobile phone that was on a bus and are conducting digital forensic work.

The police explained in response to criticism that they did not search Kang’s residence after he cut off the anklet and fled. Choi Kwan-ho, head of the Seoul Police Agency, said, "The officers visited Kang’s residence five times in total?three times on the day he cut off the anklet and fled, and twice the next day?but there may be legal and institutional limitations that prevented them from entering the residence." He added, "The scope of police duties is very limited," and said, "We believe that legal and institutional measures need to be established in consultation with the National Police Agency."

Regarding when the Ministry of Justice provided Kang’s criminal and sexual offense records, a police official said, "Only the charges were provided, and a cooperation request to arrest him for damaging the electronic anklet was received around 8:26 p.m. on the 27th," adding, "It was confirmed that the criminal record check was first conducted after his surrender."

Chief Choi said, "Usually, when an electronic anklet is damaged or removed, the Ministry of Justice requests cooperation for arrest, and efforts focus on tracking the individual," adding, "It is regrettable that we could not act more proactively because we did not comprehensively consider whether the secondary harm occurred before or after the anklet was damaged, as is typical in such tracking cases."

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