Mother-in-law Instigates Murder

The case of murdering of Ha (22 years old at that time, who lived in Samsung-Dong, Kangnam-Ku, Seoul) occurred March in last year was proved that it was directed by Yoon, who is 58 years old, lives in Dongdaeshin-dong, Seo-gu, Busan and is a mother- in-law of Ha`s boyfriend. She has suspected of the relationship between Ha and her son-in-law, who is 30 years old and a lawyer.

The police said that Yoon, Yoon’s nephew (42 years old) and Kim (41 years old), Yoon`s high school buddy had committed the murder under the detailed pre-plan. It was found that they were also going to murder Ha’s father, 58 years old.

▽Kidnapping and murdering = The Police Agency of Gyeonggi Province alleged April 13th that Yoon was the one who had schemed the whole plan. The police Agency explained that Yoon had called in her nephew on October in 2001 and directed her nephew saying, “We`d better kill Ha. Find someone, who can do the dirty job to kill her.” The Police Agency alleged that Yoon directed her nephew to shadow both her son-in-law and Ha, and try to find out the evidence of the adultery but he failed. That was why she had directed her nephew to murder Ha.

According to the police`s allegation, her nephew Yoon invited Kim, who was a jobless man, to join in the murdering on the condition to pay KRW 150 million. And Yoon deposited KRW 50 million into Kim`s Nonghyup bank account as an initial deposit.

At first, they plotted to kill Ha by poisonous medicine but they found out that it was not easy to even access to her. So they changed their first plan into the one to kill her by an air gun. In February of 2002, Kim purchased an air gun and induced Chun (24 years old) and other six accomplices to the plan.

After having failed to kidnap Ha two times in early March of 2002, Yoon, Kim and other three men finally kidnapped Ha in front of Ha’s house on 5:37 AM, March 6th, and rode the van binding her hands and feet tightly, tapping her lips and putting her into the rice bag.

Yoon and Kim separated from the other three men at the kidnapping place. And they directly drove the van and arrived at Keomdan Mountain in Hanam City in Gyeonggi Province.

Kim climbed the mountain about one hundred meters carrying Ha on his shoulder and put her down. Then he shot Ha`s head and face six times with the air gun, which was handed over to him by the nephew, Yoon and killed her. They disguised the dead body covering with fallen leaves. It took about 30 minutes from kidnapping to murdering her.

By the investigation of the police, it was known that the nephew Yoon telephoned his aunt Yoon through the public phone near his own house and said, “We have successfully done our job with no trouble.”

The police said, “Nephew Yoon handed over to Kim about KRW 100 million total including a deposit, KRW 60 million.”

▽Confession = Nephew Yoon and Kim, who had run away to abroad, were caught by the Chinese policemen and were sent back to Korea. At first they strongly denied of murdering at the inquiry. But after Kim confessed what he had done, Yoon also confessed everything what he had done.

Kim confessed to the police, “I tried not to join in the murdering many times. But I was forced to do it by Yoon`s threatening saying, ‘You would be punished by gangsters from Busan sent by me if you do not join in this murdering.’ While I was hiding myself from the police, I had many times of thoughts to commit myself suicide after confessing everything to Ha’s father.”

Kim also confessed that the nephew Yoon repeatedly asked him to go to North Korea and through it he thought that the nephew Yoon would kill him someday in order to remove the evidence of murdering.

▽The investigation of the police = The police requested an arrest warrant of Nephew Yoon and Kim on a charge of kidnapping, murdering and corpse abandonment on April 13th.

And the police decided to add the instigation in the murdering to Aunt Yoon, who was sentenced three years and six months in first court on January with the charge of illegal arrest and confinement.

bibulus@donga.com