Suspects in Director Kim Chang-min's Death Case Taken Into Custody: "Risk of Flight and Evidence Tampering"

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[Financial News] Two suspects in the case involving the death of director Kim Chang-min were finally taken into custody, six months after the incident.
On the 4th, Judge Oh Deok-sik of the Namyangju Branch of Uijeongbu District Court issued arrest warrants for the two suspects, identified by their surnames as Lee, 31, and Lim, 31. He said the warrants were granted because there was a risk of flight and evidence tampering.
The pretrial detention hearings were held earlier that morning. The warrant for Lee was issued on the third request, while the warrant for Lim was issued on the second. As a result, the two will face the prosecution's investigation while in custody before being sent to trial.
Lee and the others are accused of fatally beating Kim at around 1 a.m. on Oct. 20 last year in front of a restaurant in Guri-si, Gyeonggi-do, after an argument over noise. Kim lost consciousness after the assault and was taken to a hospital by 119 paramedics, but he never woke up. He was later declared brain-dead 17 days later, donated his organs to four people, and died.
At the beginning of the case, police twice sought arrest warrants for Lee and once for Lim, but the court rejected them, citing, among other reasons, a lack of risk of flight. The case was later handed over to the Criminal Division 2 of the Namyangju Branch of the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office, led by Chief Prosecutor Park Shin-young. After forming a dedicated investigation team, prosecutors carried out supplementary investigations, including questioning Kim's developmentally disabled son as a witness, searching the suspects' homes and mobile phones, and summoning them for questioning. They then refiled for arrest warrants on the 28th of last month.
This time, prosecutors also added charges of emotional abuse, including assaulting Kim in front of his developmentally disabled son, under the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities. A prosecution official said, "We will do our utmost to prove the suspects' charges based on evidence and the law so that the victim is not wronged," adding, "We will make sure the suspects are punished in line with their crimes."
bng@fnnews.com Kim Hee-sun Reporter