Over 30 Victims... 'Electronic Ankle Bracelet Escapee' in His 50s, Serial Robber and Sexual Assaulter After Release 16 Years Ago

The residence of Kang Mo, who cut off his electronic ankle bracelet and committed a series of murders, located in Songpa-gu. Kang cut off the electronic ankle bracelet on the 27th, killed two women before and after fleeing, and surrendered two days later. On the 30th, the Ministry of Justice announced that they would produce electronic ankle bracelets with more durable materials than the current ones to prevent damage to the devices.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Kang Mo (56), who cut off his electronic monitoring device (electronic anklet) and fled in Songpa-gu, Seoul, was revealed to have committed various crimes such as robbery, theft, and sexual assault against more than 30 victims and caused property damage amounting to tens of millions of won during about 40 days after his release 16 years ago.

According to the legal community on the 30th, in 2006, the 11th Criminal Division of the Seoul Western District Court (Chief Judge Lee Won-il) sentenced Kang and three accomplices to 15 years in prison for Kang, and 15 years, 12 years, and 10 years respectively for the three accomplices.

According to the verdict at the time, Kang received prison sentences for special theft in 1982, theft in 1986, theft under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes in 1989 and 1992, and robbery-rape and robbery-injury in 1997, and was released under protective custody in April 2005.

After his release, around mid-August 2005, Kang began committing robbery crimes, leading about 10 snatch thefts and 7 robberies while moving around Yongsan-gu, Seodaemun, and Gwanak-gu in Seoul. The three accomplices were also in a released state. They mainly targeted skin care clinics and beauty salons frequented by women to steal valuables and injure victims. They assaulted, threatened, and kidnapped women who got out of cars alone late at night to demand valuables.

It was also revealed that in the early morning of September of the same year, Kang threatened a woman who got out of a car alone with a weapon and committed a sexual crime against the resisting victim inside the car. The number of victims of crimes committed by Kang and others over about 40 days exceeded 30, and the property damage was estimated to be tens of millions of won.

The first trial court stated, "The defendants conspired to steal valuables from women to prepare entertainment expenses and distribute the profits," and "Considering the extremely serious nature of the crimes and the fact that they were habitual offenders, it is unavoidable to impose a punishment that isolates them from society for a long time." In the second trial opened due to appeals by Kang and others, the charge of special robbery-rape applied to Kang was changed to sexual assault, but the court's guilty judgment and sentence were maintained. This ruling was confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2006, the following year.

Meanwhile, Kang was released in May this year and on the 27th, he cut off his electronic anklet and fled on a street in Sincheon-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul. The police and probation office launched a manhunt for Kang, and he surrendered himself to Songpa Police Station at 7:55 a.m. on the 29th. Kang also confessed to killing women in their 40s and 50s whom he knew before and after damaging the electronic anklet.

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