'Middle-aged Woman and Accomplice Murder' Kwon Jae-chan Sent to Prosecution... "Planned Crime Aimed at Money" Concluded

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Kwon Jae-chan (52), who killed a woman he knew and also murdered an accomplice who helped dispose of the body, has been sent to the prosecution.

On the 14th, the Michuhol Police Station in Incheon sent Kwon to the prosecution on charges of robbery-murder, corpse abandonment, and special theft. When Kwon appeared outside Michuhol Police Station before being sent to the prosecution, he did not answer any questions from reporters such as "What was your relationship with the victims?" or "Was this a planned crime?" He only briefly responded "I'm sorry" when asked if he had any remorse toward the victims. Although his identity was recently made public, he covered his face with a mask and got into a police van on the day of transfer. He refused reporters' requests to remove the mask by shaking his head.

Kwon is accused of strangling a woman in her 50s, Ms. A, whom he knew, to death on the morning of the 4th at a commercial building in Michuhol-gu, Incheon. He then withdrew several million won in cash using her credit card and disposed of her body in the trunk of a passenger car. The next day, on the afternoon of the 5th, he is also accused of killing his accomplice, a man in his 40s named Mr. B, by hitting him with a blunt weapon in a nearby mountain in Eulwang-ri, Jung-gu, and secretly burying the body nearby. Although Mr. B was not directly involved in Ms. A’s murder, he helped Kwon withdraw cash using the credit card and dispose of Ms. A’s body. Additionally, Kwon was on trial for two counts of theft committed earlier this year in May and August, where he secretly entered construction sites in Incheon during late-night hours and stole electrical wires.

During police investigation, Kwon claimed that he killed both Ms. A and Mr. B during an argument, asserting that the crimes were impulsive. However, the police viewed the case as a planned crime motivated by financial gain, based on evidence such as Kwon having obtained the credit card password prior to the crime. Shortly after his arrest, Kwon also gave false testimony to the police, claiming that Mr. B had killed Ms. A. For these reasons, the police believe that Kwon lured Mr. B as an accomplice, killed him, and planned to frame him as the culprit.

In 2003, 18 years ago, Kwon assaulted a pawnshop owner (aged 69 at the time) in Incheon, causing his death, stole 320,000 won in checks and cash, and attempted to flee to Japan illegally but was later caught. At that time, he was charged with five offenses including robbery-murder and violation of illegal immigration laws. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial but had his sentence reduced on appeal. After serving 15 years, he was released in 2018. Since his release, he has been designated a 'high-risk offender' and has been under police supervision.

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