Planning the Crime After Receiving a Prison Sentence Demand... Reconstructing the Sindang Station Murder Case

Suspect Jeon Juhwan in the 'Sindang Station Stalking Murder' case is being transferred from the Namdaemun Police Station detention center in Jung-gu, Seoul to the prosecution on the 21st. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporters Seongpil Jo and Byungseon Gong] The Sindang Station clerk murder case has been revealed to be a premeditated crime committed by the perpetrator Jeon Juhwan, who harbored resentment against the victim after receiving a heavy sentence during the trial. Jeon claimed the crime was impulsive, citing depression and other reasons, but the police uncovered evidence that he had prepared for murder in advance. Based on the investigation results announced by the police on the 21st, the main outline of this case is as follows.

Jeon, who was handed over to the prosecution in custody that day, had persistently stalked the victim, Mr. A, since 2019. From November of that year until October last year, he reportedly sent illegal recordings to Mr. A and sent over 350 text messages. Following Mr. A’s complaint, the police launched an investigation and urgently arrested Jeon on charges of violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, then applied for an arrest warrant, but the court dismissed it, citing "Jeon’s residence is fixed."

Jeon’s stalking continued even after Mr. A’s complaint. Until February this year, he harassed Mr. A by sending 21 text messages urging for a settlement. Due to the persistent stalking, Mr. A filed another complaint, and eventually, Jeon was prosecuted in February this year for violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes and in July for violating the Stalking Punishment Act. The two cases were consolidated and tried together in court, and the prosecution demanded a nine-year prison sentence at the sentencing hearing on the 18th of last month.

It was around this time that Jeon decided to kill Mr. A. In police interrogation, he stated, "I thought the heavy sentence of nine years was because of Mr. A," and "I committed the crime out of resentment." Subsequently, from the 5th to the 14th, when the crime was committed, Jeon visited Mr. A’s former residence five times, and it was revealed that his bag contained a shower cap and gloves used during the crime. The police judged that Jeon had the intent to kill, saying things like "If necessary, I would kill."

When Mr. A, who had already moved, did not appear, Jeon accessed the company’s internal network. Through this, he found out the victim’s workplace and went to Sindang Station. At that time, Jeon was wearing the shower cap and gloves. He told the police, "I wore the shower cap because I was afraid of losing hair if I had a confrontation with the victim." He was mindful that hair could be used as evidence to catch him. Additionally, Jeon showed meticulousness by installing a GPS signal jamming application on his phone to avoid tracking and using disposable subway tickets for transportation.

On the day of the crime, Jeon reportedly waited for Mr. A at Sindang Station for about 1 hour and 10 minutes from around 7:50 p.m. He then confirmed the victim entering the women’s restroom for patrol and followed her to commit the crime. Mr. A pressed the emergency bell and called for help but ultimately passed away around 11:30 p.m. that day. Jeon was arrested at the scene immediately after the crime. Thanks to the emergency bell pressed by Mr. A as she lost consciousness, station clerks were able to respond promptly. Thus, Jeon, who had meticulously planned to escape, was caught and handed over to the prosecution that day on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (retaliatory murder).

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