Defendant in 'Cafe Freezer Murder' Sought Tens of Billions of Won in Penalties

Uijeongbu District Prosecutors’ Office, Goyang Branch Indicts Cafe Owner
Planned to Collect Penalty Fees Even If Deal Fell Through

It has been revealed that the owner of a cafe in his 30s, involved in the murder case at a frozen storage warehouse in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, had been planning the killing for a month before the crime, preparing a frozen warehouse and making other preparations.

According to Yonhap News on October 1, the Criminal Division 2 of the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors’ Office Goyang Branch (Chief Prosecutor Hong Sangcheol) indicted Mr. A (age 39), the cafe owner, on charges of murder for financial gain, forgery of negotiable instruments, and uttering forged negotiable instruments.

The appearance of the cafe in Paju where the incident occurred on the 7th of last month. A notice indicates that the cafe is closed due to internal circumstances. Yonhap News

Mr. A is accused of luring Ms. B, a woman in her 60s, to his cafe in Paju, Gyeonggi Province on September 4, confining her in a frozen container, and murdering her. According to prosecutors, Mr. A reportedly forged department store gift certificates worth approximately 50 billion won in an attempt to sell them to a buyer in order to resolve large debts incurred from operating the cafe and other causes.

Mr. A aimed to secure the payment from the sale if the transaction went through. If the deal fell apart, he planned to make it appear as if the person who came to verify the gift certificates had absconded with them, thereby shifting responsibility to the buyer and attempting to collect tens of billions of won in commissions or penalties, according to the prosecution’s findings.

To this end, Mr. A started searching for a buyer and preparing the forged gift certificates and frozen warehouse about a month before the crime. When the buyer’s representative said they would come to verify the gift certificates, Mr. A requested that an elderly person be sent. As a result, the victim, Ms. B, visited Mr. A's cafe to verify the certificates.

On August 31, Mr. A forged 100,000 department store gift certificates in denominations of 500,000 won, totaling approximately 50 billion won, at a printshop in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul. Then, at around 11:13 a.m. on September 3, at the frozen warehouse installed in the parking lot of his cafe, Mr. A presented the forged certificates to Ms. B as if they were genuine and then locked her inside the warehouse. Ms. B was found dead at 2:36 p.m. the next day, after having been trapped in the warehouse set to minus 25 degrees Celsius for about 27 hours.

During the investigation, Mr. A claimed that he had no intention to kill and that he did not act alone. However, prosecutors explained that, through audio recordings, they confirmed Mr. A had discussed plans to kill the individual verifying the gift certificates with a third party before knowing the identity of any alleged accomplice. They also stated that internet search history and messaging records retrieved from Mr. A’s mobile phone and laptop showed that the forged gift certificates and frozen warehouse had been prepared in advance as tools for the crime. Prosecutors determined that those identified by Mr. A as his accomplices had no knowledge of the scheme to forge the certificates or to kill the verifier.

Earlier, on September 14, the police referred Mr. A to the prosecution on charges of murder for financial gain, forgery, and uttering of negotiable instruments. After receiving the case, prosecutors interrogated Mr. A twice, inspected the crime scene to confirm the set temperature and operation method of the frozen warehouse, and requested supplemental investigation from the police, acquiring additional forensic data from Mr. A’s mobile phone and laptop.

A prosecution official said, “Through objective evidence, we have confirmed circumstances indicating that the defendant intended to kill the victim from the outset,” adding, “We will do our utmost to maintain the charges in court.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.