A 37-year-old suspect, identified only by his surname Heo, confessed to hitting the 29-year-old victim in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province on Jan. 10. The victim, surnamed Kang, was on his way home with a bag of custard-filled bread for his pregnant wife who was studying for a state test to become a certified teacher. He died on the spot.

Kang called his wife -- who is expecting a child in two months -- just before the accident apologizing for not getting her cake because of their financial difficulties. The final moments of the victim immediately moved tens of thousands of online users, who sympathized with him as “cream-bread dad.”

News of the incident stirred a national uproar, but the police had difficulty in identifying the car model and its registered number plate due to the poor quality of image captured by the surveillance camera.

The case went viral after a local traffic officer left a message on a popular website after reading the reports. He said that his office operates another surveillance camera installed near the accident site and that it could give a clue.

After analyzing the fresh footage, the police on Thursday released that the car model the suspect drove was Chevrolet Windstorm, and requested for any information.

Under pressure, the suspect turned himself in at the police station later in the evening.

Heo confessed that he drove after drinking four bottles of soju but claimed that he wasn’t aware of hitting the man at that time, the police said. He came to know of the tragedy from the news coverage, investigators said after questioning him on Friday. The police said they would seek an arrest warrant for the suspect soon, officials said.

The suspect said he turned in himself because he “felt so guilty and couldn’t breathe.”

Investigators, however, suspect that Heo may have attempted to remove all evidence and cover up the case.

The suspect had brought the damaged car to his parents’ house and repaired it with components he purchased, police said.

The police also said that the suspect tried to commit suicide but was persuaded by his wife to give himself up. (Yonhap)