Jeju woman who reported him to police four times murdered; warrant sought on ‘revenge murder’ charge

【Financial News, Jeju = Jung Yong-bok, reporter】 Police have sought a warrant for the arrest of a man in his 60s accused of killing a woman in her 40s who had reported him to police four times for stalking and sexual violence, among other offenses. Investigators also found indications that, before the crime, he had brought flammable materials and a weapon to the victim’s home and left them there.
According to the Jeju Western Police Station on the 20th, police applied five charges against A, a man in his 60s: revenge murder under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes; special trespass into a residence; preparation for arson of an occupied building; special arrest; and attempted special confinement.
Police replaced the existing murder charge with a revenge-murder charge and added the other charges based on circumstances before and after the crime. Their assessment included A’s having placed paint thinner and a weapon beside the stairs at the victim’s home in advance and forcibly taking her away in his rental car.
A is accused of stabbing B, a woman in her 40s with whom he had previously been in a relationship, to death on a road outside a hotel in Yeon-dong, Jeju City, at around 1:38 a.m. on the 12th.
After the crime, A received hospital treatment for health problems and was temporarily released when he was admitted to hospital on the 13th. After A was discharged at around 1:40 p.m. on the 19th, police executed an arrest warrant, questioned him twice more, and then sought a detention warrant.
Police protection measures that failed to prevent the crime despite the victim’s repeated reports remain a key issue in the case.
From October last year through May this year, B reported A to police four times in total for stalking, sexual violence, dating violence and other offenses. The reports were either dealt with by issuing warnings or closed. Police cited circumstances including that the victim did not want a formal case to be opened or anyone to be punished as reasons for how they handled them.
Police had managed B as a person eligible for crime-victim safety measures and provided her with a smartwatch for emergency calls, but failed to prevent the crime. It appears that no order barring A from approaching her was issued.


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