'Motel Owner Accused of Ordering Murder of 80s Building Owner in Yeongdeungpo Finally Arrested'

Arrest Warrant Issued After Three Applications

The owner of a motel, suspected of ordering the murder of an octogenarian building owner, has been arrested.

On the 13th, Yuh Hwan-woo, the chief judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Southern District Court, issued an arrest warrant during the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant review) for Cho, a man in his 40s accused of instigating murder, citing "concerns over evidence destruction and flight risk."

According to the police, Cho is suspected of instructing Kim, a man in his 30s who stabbed and killed 80-year-old building owner Yoo on the rooftop of a building in Yeongdeungpo-gu last month on the 12th, and of destroying evidence. Cho is the owner of a motel near Yoo's building and was operating a parking lot leased from Yoo. Kim had worked as the manager and parking attendant of the motel and was arrested and indicted on murder charges on the 11th.

Cho was arrested after three applications for an arrest warrant. Previously, the police had applied twice for an arrest warrant for Cho. On the 14th of last month, the court that conducted the warrant review for both Kim and Cho issued an arrest warrant only for Kim. Regarding Cho, the court dismissed the warrant, stating, "The main evidence, the accomplice's testimony, is inconsistent, and the motive for instigating the murder is difficult to accept, so the accomplice's testimony lacks credibility."

Subsequently, after supplementary investigations, the police secured video evidence showing Cho specifically instructing Kim to commit the crime and reapplied for an arrest warrant on the 1st. However, the prosecution requested additional materials and rejected the application.

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