Nation rocked by abduction, murder cases

납치, 살인 사건에 뒤흔들리는 대한민국



최근에 부산과 안산에서 각각 일어난 충격적인 살인 사건에 전 국민이 이목이 쏠렸다. 부산에서는 실종된 여중생 이모양이 11일만에 시체로 발견되었다. 경찰에 따르면 사인은 질식사이며 성폭행의 흔적도 발견되었다고 한다. 범인은 이모양의 시신을 그녀의 집 근처에 있는 집 옥상 물탱크에 유기하고 벽돌과 횟가루 등으로 덮어서 은닉했다. 경찰은 성폭행 전과가 있는 33세 김모씨를 유력한 용의자로 보고 수색 중이지만 지난 주에 검거에 실패한 바 있다. 안산에서는 중소기업 사장을 납치해서 돈을 갈취한 후에 살해한 5인조가 검거되었다. 범인중 한 명은 피해자가 몇 년 전에 해고한 운전기사였다. 해고당한 후 금전적인 어려움과 피해자에 대한 개인적인 원한으로 인해 범행을 저지른 것으로 보인다고 경찰 관계자는 전했다.





Two abduction and murder cases sent shockwaves through the nation over the weekend.

A 13-year-old girl was found dead in Busan Saturday, 11 days after she went missing. Police suspect she was raped and strangled by a man in her neighborhood.

Near Seoul in Ansan, police announced yesterday that they had captured five men suspected of abducting and killing a businessman for money. One of suspects was his former chauffeur.

The middle school girl, Lee Yu-ri, was found inside a rooftop water tank located 100 meters away from her house. She disappeared on Feb. 24 after talking to her mother on the phone in her home.

"The girl appeared to have died from suffocation and her body showed signs of rape," said Kim Hee-ung, chief of the investigative team at Busan Sasang Police Station, yesterday.

Police pinpointed as a suspect a 33-year-old man who was staying at a deserted house about 30 meters away from the victim`s house.

The man, who has a prior rape conviction, escaped the police search at the house last Wednesday, according to officials.



Lee`s body, naked and covered with black plastic bags, was lying face down. Her hands and feet were tied with string, police said.

She appeared to have been dead for several days before she was found, though the exact time of her death has yet to be determined, he said.

The killer is likely to have raped the girl in a nearby area before strangling her and abandoning her body in the tank, according to the police.

The suspect probably broke into the house to kidnap her, said the police. All of her belongings were left in the house and footsteps were found around the building.

The Busan police mobilized a total 19,521 officers during the 11-day search. The large-scale search team skimmed through the neighboring area, including the house where the body was found.

"The aggressor would not have gone far from the neighborhood and we will step up our investigation to arrest him," Kim said.

Meanwhile, police in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, said they have apprehended five people on charges of killing a businessman last month.

The 46-year-old victim in Ansan, identified only by his surname Lee, was abducted on Feb. 11 in his apartment`s basement parking lot. His abductors demanded 300 million won ($262,927) in cash.

His former driver, identified by the surname Kim, was fired in 2006. He has since had no sustainable income sources and been suffering from gambling debts, according to the police.

In addition to the five arrested already, another suspect has been put on the wanted list.

"Kim appears to have committed the crime due to his financial difficulties and grudges he has been holding against Lee," Kang Sun-bo, a senior official in charge of the case at Sangrok Police Station.

"Lee`s wife introduced Kim to Lee to work as his chauffeur. After Kim was fired, Lee filed suit against Kim for sexually assaulting and battering his wife."

Lee called his nephew working at his company on the day of the abduction, asking him to prepare the money and hand it over to the suspects. After receiving the money, his kidnappers took him to a chartered 45-passenger bus and drove it to Daebu Island.

They strangled Lee to death inside the bus and threw his body into the waters near a seawall in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, after attaching eight-kilogram dumbbells on his neck and legs.

The suspects were captured on Feb. 26 after police traced their movements through Lee`s mobile phone. They told the police they shared and used the money for paying off their debts and living costs.

(sshluck@heraldm.com)

(tellme@heraldm.com)



By Song Sang-ho and Bae Hyun-jung