'Gangnam Abduction and Murder' Main Perpetrator Lee Kyung-woo Was a Former North Korean Infiltration Agent

Accomplice Who Aided Crime Appears as Witness in Trial
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The fact that Lee Kyung-woo (36), the main perpetrator of the 'Gangnam kidnapping and murder' case, is a former North Korean infiltration agent was revealed during the trial.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 29 (Presiding Judge Kim Seung-jung) held the second trial on the 24th for seven people, including the main perpetrators Lee Kyung-woo, Hwang Dae-han (36), Yeon Ji-ho (30), and the couple Yoo Sang-won (51) and Hwang Eun-hee (49), who conspired in the crime.

Suspect Lee Kyung-woo in the 'Gangnam Kidnapping and Murder' Case Boarding a Prison Transport Vehicle
[Image Source=Yonhap News]

At the trial, Mr. Lee, who was indicted for assisting the crime by surveilling and tailing the victim A from January to March this year and tracking her movements, appeared as a witness. The prosecution asked him, "Do you know that Lee Kyung-woo was a former North Korean infiltration agent? If Lee Kyung-woo had received training, he could have committed the crime himself or done it together with the other three. Do you know why he did not do it directly?" They inquired about the reason why Lee Kyung-woo, who had received special military training, did not personally kidnap and murder A but instead had Hwang Dae-han and Yeon Ji-ho carry out the crime.

Mr. Lee testified, "I heard before that he was a North Korean infiltration agent," but added, "I do not know exactly whether Lee Kyung-woo led the crime plan." However, he said, "While waiting in front of the victim's house to tail her, when I asked Hwang Dae-han, 'Can I go home now?' he replied, 'I will ask Lee Kyung-woo,' so I waited for the answer."

The prosecution also pointed to a part of a recorded phone call between Mr. Lee and Yeon Ji-ho, where Yeon Ji-ho said something to the effect of "If the crime is exposed, we must flee overseas," and Mr. Lee responded, "There is no evidence of murder, right?" The prosecution questioned, "Did you conspire to commit murder together with the three main perpetrators from the beginning?" In response, Mr. Lee said, "I think that was a careless remark," and "We only planned to kidnap A and take her cryptocurrency, not to kill her."

Mr. Lee continued to deny his charges. Regarding the recording where Yeon Ji-ho told him, "After renting a vehicle and moving to Daejeon, we planned to dig a hole right away," he claimed that it was not to bury the victim after kidnapping and murdering her, but "like in a movie, to bury A's legs underground to immobilize her and then threaten her." When asked why he had visited a mountain near Daecheong Dam in Daejeon, where the victim was buried, together with Hwang Dae-han and Yeon Ji-ho before the crime, he offered excuses such as "We just went to look around," "I didn't know it would be used for the crime," and "Yeon Ji-ho said his ancestral grave was there and invited me to go."

Lee Kyung-woo and the other two have been on trial for kidnapping, murdering, and secretly burying a woman in her 40s, victim A, around 11:46 p.m. on March 29 in front of an apartment in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Lee Kyung-woo committed the crime after receiving an advance payment of 70 million won from the couple Yoo Sang-won and Hwang Eun-hee, who had a grudge against A, and attempted to seize the cryptocurrency owned by A after the crime.

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