'Gwanaksan Gangrape and Murder' Choi Yoon-jong Admits "I Strangled the Victim"

Choi Yoon-jong (30, male), the suspect in the 'Gwanaksan rape and murder' case, admitted during police interrogation that he strangled the female victim.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 24th, the Gwanak Police Station in Seoul announced that they had obtained a statement from Choi saying, "I strangled the victim, Ms. A." This aligns with the initial verbal opinion released after the National Forensic Service (NFS) conducted an autopsy on Ms. A on the 21st. The NFS reported to the police that the direct cause of Ms. A's death was "hypoxic brain injury due to neck compression asphyxiation," meaning death by strangulation.

Choi is accused of assaulting and sexually assaulting Ms. A near the Gwanaksan Dulle-gil trail connected to a park in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 17th. Ms. A, who was transported to a hospital for treatment, died on the 19th, leading to Choi being charged with rape and murder.

With Choi's admission that he "strangled her," the intent to kill has become more evident. Unlike rape resulting in death, proving intent to kill is necessary for a rape and murder charge.

Before the NFS's initial verbal opinion was released, Choi had maintained that he committed the crime with the intent to rape but without intent to kill. When he appeared at the pre-trial detention hearing on the 19th, he responded "No" to reporters' questions about whether he intended to kill. Under the Sexual Violence Punishment Act, rape resulting in death carries a sentence of life imprisonment or at least 10 years in prison, but rape and murder can be punished by death or life imprisonment.

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