Suspects in 'Valley Murder' Arrested at Goyang Officetel... Prosecution to Request Warrants Within 48 Hours

Suspects Lee Eun-hae (left) and Jo Hyun-soo in the "Valley Murder" case are being escorted to the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office on the afternoon of the 16th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] With the arrest of suspects Lee Eunhae (31) and Jo Hyunsoo (30) in the 'Gapyeong Valley Murder Case,' the prosecution is expected to request arrest warrants as early as the 17th or by the 18th at the latest.

On the afternoon of the 16th, the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office, after receiving Lee and Jo from the Goyang Police Station and investigating their escape circumstances, plans to request arrest warrants for them on charges of murder and attempted murder.

Since Lee and Jo were arrested based on warrants previously issued by the court, the prosecution must request arrest warrants within 48 hours.

Lee is accused of killing her husband A (39 years old at the time of death) on June 30, 2019, at Yongsogye Valley in Gapyeong-gun, together with her lover Jo.

The prosecution believes that Lee and others caused A's death by forcing him, who could not swim at all, to dive into the valley without any equipment and then ignoring his calls for help.

Earlier, they are also accused of attempting to kill A in February and May of the same year by feeding him food mixed with pufferfish poison and by making him fall into fishing pond water. The prosecution believes they committed the crime aiming for the 800 million won life insurance money taken out in A's name.

Lee and others fled before their second prosecution investigation scheduled for December 14 last year but were arrested by the police around 12:25 PM that day at an officetel in Deogyang-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province.

The Metropolitan Investigation Unit of the Incheon Police Agency transferred them to the nearby Goyang Police Station and, after consulting with the prosecution, sent them to the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office that afternoon.

It was reported that Lee expressed her intention to surrender to her father that morning as the police tightened their net.

Lee's father said, "My daughter wants to surrender. She said the officetel is near Samsong Station on Seoul Subway Line 3," providing the police with an approximate location of their hideout.

The police, who had already identified the officetel building used as a hideout and were conducting inquiries, persuaded them through Lee's father to come out into the hallway of the officetel building voluntarily.

Jo came out alone into the hallway of the officetel building, and an investigator followed him inside and arrested Lee as well. The police stated that only Lee and Jo were present in the officetel at the time, with no accomplices.

The officetel where they hid is near Samsong Station on Seoul Subway Line 3. The area around Samsong Station is densely populated with large shopping malls and large apartment complexes, with a high flow of people.

The police believe that Lee and Jo chose an officetel in the middle of the city, rather than a relatively conspicuous suburban area with fewer people, to hide.

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