[Exclusive] 'Gangnam Abduction and Murder' Suseo Police Chief and Seoul Police Commissioner Unaware All Night... First Report Made After Victim Killed Next Day

Suseo Police Chief Received First Report at 7 AM on the 30th
Victim Buried in Secret but Report Delayed Over an Hour
Seoul Chief's Phone Report Came After 10 AM

Regarding the abduction and murder of a woman in her 40s that took place in the heart of Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 29th of last month, it has been confirmed that the head of the Seoul Suseo Police Station, which has jurisdiction over the case, and the Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency did not receive the first report of the incident until the morning of the following day when the victim was killed.

According to a compilation of reports by Asia Economy on the 3rd, Baek Nam-ik, head of the Seoul Suseo Police Station, which has jurisdiction over the case, received the first report at 7 a.m. on the 30th, the day after the abduction. This was one hour after the estimated time by the police, around 6 a.m. on the same day, when the perpetrators killed the victim and secretly buried the body near Daecheong Dam in Daejeon. Kim Kwang-ho, Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, was confirmed to have received the first report via text message at 6:55 a.m. that day. The first phone report to the Commissioner from the Suseo Police Station was received after 10 a.m.

The scene of the kidnapping incident that occurred around 11:46 PM on the 29th of last month at an apartment complex in Gangnam-gu. The kidnapper's vehicle is parked.

Due to this delayed reporting, the police command was unaware of anything until the suspects had completed the abduction, murder, and disposal of the body and fled.

It was confirmed that frontline police officers realized the seriousness of the situation belatedly and reported to the highest police command after discovering a blunt weapon stained with blood in the vehicle abandoned by the kidnappers.

Despite receiving a 112 emergency call at around 11:46 p.m. on the 29th reporting "two men beating a woman and forcibly putting her into a car and departing," the police treated it as a simple abduction and responded accordingly.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s 112 comprehensive situation room issued the highest dispatch order, 'Code Zero,' just three minutes after the report at 11:49 p.m., and officers from the Suseo Police Station’s jurisdictional precinct arrived at the abduction scene in front of an apartment complex in Yeoksam-dong seven minutes later at 11:53 p.m.

However, subsequent investigations were slow and insufficient. It took an hour to identify the abduction vehicle due to poor CCTV quality, and no additional detective personnel were deployed to pursue the suspects even as they passed through the Seoul tollgate on the Gyeongbu Expressway at around 12:12 a.m. on the 30th.

While the suspects killed the victim in Daejeon, secretly buried the body in a mountain near Daecheong Dam, and fled to Cheongju and Seongnam, only frontline 112 and detective functions were active; there was no command from the police leadership. It was even confirmed that requests for cooperation sent by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to the Daejeon Police Agency, Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency, and Chungbuk Police Agency were made without reporting to the highest command.

The police have not disclosed these circumstances so far and have explained that "there was no problem with the initial response." The Suseo Police Station stated in a media briefing on the 31st of last month, "We arrived at the scene within three minutes after receiving the dispatch order, and since we identified the basic facts of the crime through on-site CCTV, we judge that the initial response was well conducted."

However, another investigative official said, “Because the abduction was not immediately reported to the head of the jurisdictional police station and the Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, there were limitations in rapid personnel support during the early morning hours.”

Meanwhile, the police are investigating the abduction and murder as related to the victim’s virtual currency (coin) assets. According to the police, three suspects?Lee (35, legal office employee), Hwang (36, liquor company employee), and Yeon (30, unemployed)?planned the crime in advance and stalked the victim for 2 to 3 months before carrying out the crime on the day in question, according to interim investigation results.

According to the police, Lee identified the victim and proposed the abduction and murder to Hwang, who then proposed it to Yeon, and they committed the crime together. The police are investigating whether there are any masterminds behind the crime and whether it was a contract killing. The Suseo Police Station applied for arrest warrants for the three on the 1st, and the decision on detention will be made after a warrant review at the Seoul Central District Court on the 3rd.

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