Suspect in Teen Killing Denies All Charges

The suspect in the murder of a 13-year-old girl in Busan denied the charges against him to the Busan District Court yesterday.

Repeat sex offender Kim Kil-tae, 33, is suspected of kidnapping, raping and killing Lee Yu-ri.

Speaking to a court hearing that decided on issuing an arrest warrant for him, Kim claimed he was unaware of Lee’s murder. He also denied committing a sexual assault against a 20-something woman in January, saying, “I don’t remember what happened because I was drunk at the time.”

Because he denied all charges against him, the hearing ended in less than 10 minutes.

Police did not cover Kim’s face while transferring him to the court, just like they did when they arrested him.

On media reports that the girl died two to four days after a nationwide manhunt began for Kim, a police source said, “That will be proven by the autopsy conducted by the National Institute of Scientific Investigation, the results of which are due early next week.”

toto@donga.com