‘Guro-gu Body Dumping’ Arrest Warrants Rejected for Men in Their 60s and 80s; Court Says There Is No Risk of Flight or Evidence Tampering

[Financial News] Two men suspected of dumping a body in a residential area in Guro-gu, Seoul, have avoided detention.
On the 29th, Senior Judge Kim Ji-hyeon, who oversees warrant applications at Seoul Southern District Court, held pre-arrest suspect examinations for A, a man in his 60s, and B, a man in his 80s, both suspected of abandoning a body, and denied the arrest warrants for each of them.
In explaining why he denied the arrest warrant for A, Judge Kim said, “Considering the circumstances and details of the alleged crime established by the evidence collected so far, the fact that he has a stable residence, that he acknowledges his wrongdoing and is remorseful, and that he has no record of criminal punishment more severe than a fine, it is difficult to find that he is likely to flee or destroy evidence.” He added, “At this stage, it is difficult to find grounds for detention, or to find detention necessary or appropriate.”
The judge also determined that the risk of flight or evidence destruction was low for B, taking into account his stable residence, family ties, advanced age, health, and lack of any significant criminal record apart from a punishment 50 years ago.
When A arrived at the court at around 10:08 a.m. that day, he was asked by reporters, ‘Do you admit to the allegation of abandoning the body?’ He replied, “I’m sorry. I was wrong.” Asked whether he knew it was a body, he said, “I didn’t know. I thought it was a doll.”
B entered the courtroom without answering reporters’ questions, including, ‘Why did you order the body to be dumped?’ and ‘Did you know it was a body?’
The two are suspected of dumping the body near a waste-disposal site in a residential area of Guro-dong, Guro-gu, on the 22nd.
After receiving a report on the 27th from a sanitation worker who found the body, police urgently arrested the two men and completed their initial questioning as suspects, using CCTV footage and investigative inquiries.
During questioning, B claimed that he had instructed that a doll in his building be thrown away and that he had not known it was a body. A said he had suspected it might be a body but had only followed B’s instructions.
B owns a multi-family residential building in Guro-gu, and A was formerly a tenant there. A reportedly helped B with tasks such as taking out the trash and looked up to him as a father.
The body, wrapped in plastic and newspaper, was left in the same place for five days. By the time it was found, decomposition and drying had progressed. However, no clear external signs of homicide were found.
After conducting an autopsy, the National Forensic Service gave a verbal opinion that the cause and time of death were difficult to determine due to decomposition and other factors. The final autopsy findings are expected to be provided later.
Police are reported to have identified the victim as an undocumented Chinese national.
[email protected] Seong-hyun Park Reporter