So-young Kim, the 'Motel Serial Killer', Identified with Three More Victims

Same Drug Detected in One Victim as in Previous Cases
Police Respond to Identity Disclosure Controversy: "Investigation Time Was Limited"

It has been additionally confirmed that So-young Kim, who committed a series of murders using drinks laced with drugs at motels in the Gangbuk-gu area of Seoul, carried out similar crimes against three more men.

According to the National Office of Investigation at the Korean National Police Agency, at a regular briefing held in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, on March 16, three additional victims have been identified, and Kim has been booked on additional charges of special injury.

A woman in her 20s, So-young Kim, who is suspected of causing the deaths of two men at a motel in Suyu-dong, Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, is appearing at the Seoul Northern District Court for a warrant hearing. Photo by Yonhap News

The three victims are believed to have met Kim in areas such as Seocho-gu and Gangbuk-gu in Seoul between October last year and January this year, where each of them received and drank beverages containing drugs from her. According to the analysis by the National Forensic Service, one of the victims tested positive for benzodiazepines and other substances, similar to those found in previous crimes.

For one of the remaining two victims, the police are still awaiting a response from the National Forensic Service, while in the other case, no such substances were detected. However, the police presume this is due to the amount of time that has passed since the crime occurred.

Kim has been detained and indicted on charges of causing three men in their 20s to lose consciousness or die by giving them drinks containing benzodiazepines between mid-December last year and February 9 of this year. The police applied charges of murder and violation of the Narcotics Control Act, citing evidence that she had repeatedly searched generative artificial intelligence platforms such as ChatGPT for the risks of mixing drugs and alcohol, indicating intent to kill.

The Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office has released the mug shot, name, and age of the suspect So-Young Kim (20, detained), who is accused of causing the deaths of two men in succession by offering them drinks containing drugs. The Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office

Kim's personal information was released by the prosecutor's office, but there has been criticism over the police's failure to disclose her identity promptly during the investigation phase. The police explained that in the early stages of the investigation, they did not release Kim's personal information because there was not enough evidence to prove intent to kill.

A police official stated, "The suspect was denying the charges, and since the period of detention for investigation was only ten days, it was difficult to determine that all the requirements for disclosure under the Serious Crimes Investigation Disclosure Act had been met." The official added that the time constraints made it challenging to both focus on evidence collection and consider the requirements for public disclosure of identity.

The police announced plans to strengthen education for frontline officers, such as distributing casebooks on related precedents, to enable more proactive legal assessments regarding the disclosure of personal information in the future.

Meanwhile, So-young Kim's first trial is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on April 9 at the Seoul Northern District Court.

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