Police Apply for Arrest Warrants for Gang Involved in 'Yeongdeungpo Building Owner Murder Conspiracy'

The police have requested arrest warrants for two men who conspired to murder a building owner in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. The man in his 30s who committed the murder at the time of arrest stated that his motive was "because he was usually ignored," but the police believe that a man in his 40s was behind the murder instruction.

Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station [Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 14th, the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul announced that they had applied for arrest warrants for Kim, a man in his 30s accused of murder, and Cho, a man in his 40s accused of murder instruction and evidence tampering. Although Cho was initially charged only with evidence tampering at the time of his emergency arrest the previous day, the police added the charge of murder instruction after determining that the two had conspired in the crime.

Kim is accused of stabbing and killing Mr. A, the owner of a building in Yeongdeungpo-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, in his 80s, on the rooftop of the building around 10 a.m. on the 12th. After the crime, Kim hid in a motel in a nearby building and then fled by taking the KTX bound for Gangneung from Yongsan Station around 5:30 p.m. on the same day. After tracking Kim’s escape route, the police cooperated with the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency and Gangwon Provincial Police Agency and arrested Kim at Gangneung Station four hours after the escape.

Cho, the owner of a motel near the building where the incident occurred, is accused of tampering with evidence by deleting CCTV footage that showed Kim’s escape route. He is also suspected of harboring a grudge against Mr. A and instructing Kim to kill him. It is understood that Cho had been trying to become the head of the redevelopment association for the Yeongdeungpo shantytown, but Mr. A opposed this, leading to conflicts between the two.

According to the police investigation, Cho had built a close relationship with Kim, often saying things like "We are like brothers." Cho had been renting and operating a parking lot from Mr. A by paying a deposit of 10 million won and a monthly rent of 1.2 million won, and in April 2020, he hired Kim as a motel manager and parking attendant. At the time of the emergency arrest, Kim claimed his motive for the murder was "because he was usually ignored," but the police also found evidence that Cho and Kim had agreed on this story before the crime.

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