Identity of Café Owner in ‘Paju Freezer Murder’ Spreads Online... Police Say They Are Not Considering Disclosure

[Financial News] The identity of a café owner in his 30s, who allegedly locked a woman in her 60s inside a café freezer in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, where she died, has been spreading on social media. Police are reportedly not considering publicly disclosing the suspect’s identity.
Yonhap News Agency and other outlets reported on the 9th that posts containing the name, photo, age, and other personal information of a man in his 30s, identified as A, who was detained on suspicion of killing a person who was lured, have recently been appearing on social media and online communities. Some posts also included the name of the café A operated.
However, police said it is not yet time to consider whether to disclose A’s personal information.
Under current law, the decision to disclose a suspect’s personal information is made by considering factors such as whether the crime involved cruel methods and caused serious harm, whether there is sufficient evidence to reasonably believe that the suspect committed the crime, and whether disclosure is necessary for the public interest, including protecting the public’s right to know, preventing recidivism, and preventing crime.
A police official said, "We are still examining the overall circumstances of the case, including the motive. There are many unverified details and matters requiring further investigation, so we are not currently discussing disclosure of the suspect’s identity."
A is suspected of luring a woman in her 60s, identified as B, to his café, locking her in a freezer, and setting the freezer temperature to minus 25 degrees Celsius, causing her to die of hypothermia.
After receiving a report at around midnight on the 4th that B was missing, police traced her movements and transferred the case to Paju Police Station at around 2 a.m. that same day. At approximately 2:30 p.m., police found B’s body in a freezer at a café in Paju. Hundreds of billions of won worth of counterfeit department-store gift certificates were also found in the freezer.
Police identified A as a suspect and urgently arrested him that day. On the 6th, the Goyang Branch of the Uijeongbu District Court issued a warrant for A’s detention.
Investigators found indications that A had visited the scene several times while B was confined in the freezer. Police therefore charged A with killing a person who was lured, an offense carrying a heavier statutory penalty than ordinary murder.
A is reportedly said to have told police, "I built the freezer so that the counterfeit goods would not be discovered."
Meanwhile, police are reviewing the case as a whole, including analyzing the credibility of the motive A provided. They plan to refer A to prosecutors after completing the additional investigation.
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter