1st Court Hearing Held for Self-confessed Serial Killer

Self-confessed serial killer Kang Ho-soon, 39, attending his first court hearing yesterday 41 days after his arrest and 12 days after his indictment.

Clad in a green prison uniform, Kang presented himself as the defendant in his first hearing at the Ansan branch of the Suwon District Court.

Kang appeared a bit tired but neat in his face after shaving. He appeared as a kind-faced and handsome man as shown in his photos released by media. His blushing face, however, showed his anxiety over his first hearing.

When the presiding judge asked for Kang’s name, social security number and address, the defendant replied with a relatively clear but low key voice.

While a prosecutor read the summary of his indictment for about 20 minutes, Kang hung his head down. He tried to avoid seeing the audience by turning his chair.

The hearing was expected to end soon at first, but an intense verbal dispute ensued after Kang’s state-appointed attorney Kim Ki-il opposed several parts of the indictment.

“Prosecutors’ description about the nature of Kang’s previous criminal record and family affairs have nothing to do with the case and violates the principle of an indictment only addressing the crime in question only under the Criminal Procedural Act,” Kim said.

The principle bans prosecutors from submitting evidence or documents not relevant to the indictment itself when indicting a suspect.

A prosecutor said, “We had no choice but to include a description of Kang’s personality and propensity since his testimony and excuses are impossible for the general public to understand based on common sense.”

starsky@donga.com