'Mother-in-Law Killer' Kim Seongwoo Said to Have Hired Private Detective Agency; Police Book Associates (Updated)

Kim Seongwoo made statements about the "private detective agency" during police questioning
Police: "We have booked some people associated with the agency and are questioning them"
Admits to the crime itself, but denies revenge or premeditation

Police have launched an investigation into the private detective agency used by Kim Seongwoo, 26, who is accused of murdering his mother-in-law and kidnapping his wife in Seoul's Songpa-gu district. Some people associated with the agency have been booked.

The personal information of Kim Seongwoo, 26, the suspect in the murder of his mother-in-law and abduction of his wife in Seoul's Songpa-gu district, was released on the 19th. Yonhap News Agency

The Seoul Songpa Police Station said on October 20 that it had referred Kim to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office under arrest on charges including retaliatory murder and retaliatory confinement under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, special assault, and violating the Act on Punishment of Stalking Crimes. The police decided the previous day to release information about the suspect's identity.

At a briefing held after the referral that day, a police official said of the private detective agency Kim reportedly used in carrying out the crime, "It is true that there was a statement about it," adding, "We have booked some people associated with the agency and are questioning them."

Asked whether the agency knew about the crime, the official said, "There are no indications of that so far," and added, "We are investigating the agency separately from the case referred to prosecutors, so I can't comment further."

Investigators believe Kim had never met his mother-in-law in person before the crime. "As far as I know, Kim had never met her in person," the police official said. "However, he saw her from a distance several times and knew what she looked like from photographs."

During the investigation, police conducted a forensic examination of a laptop belonging to Kim. They have not disclosed what they found, including his search history.

Police concluded that the crime was committed for revenge, but Kim denied this. During an initial police interview, he claimed that the killing was "impulsive" and that he had confined his wife because he "wanted to talk." A police official said, "During questioning, Kim admitted to the acts themselves but denied that they were motivated by revenge or planned in advance. However, police based their assessment on CCTV footage and other evidence showing that he had prepared a weapon beforehand and loitered near the victim."

According to police, at around 5:35 a.m. on October 11, Kim went to his in-laws' home in Songpa-gu, Seoul, and allegedly stabbed and killed his mother-in-law, who was in her 50s, as she tried to stop him from forcibly taking his wife away.

He is also accused of threatening his wife, who is in her 20s, with a weapon, forcing her into a vehicle and taking her to a wooded area in Yangyang County, Gangwon Province, where he confined her. He allegedly struck her in the face several times inside the vehicle while holding a weapon. During his escape, he also rammed a patrol car pursuing him, injuring two police officers for two weeks each.

Kim also stalked the victim by approaching her home about 18 times between September 16 and October 11. Police had previously issued temporary restraining measures barring him from approaching the victims from August 22 through September 30, but he violated the order by coming within 100 meters of their homes on nine occasions.

Kim and his wife registered their marriage in February and began living separately in August. In August, his wife reported him to police on assault charges and later filed a request for divorce mediation with the court, which she withdrew. She is currently pursuing a lawsuit to have the marriage annulled.

Meanwhile, at around 7:27 a.m. that day, Kim left the holding cell at the Seoul Songpa Police Station and boarded a transport vehicle without answering reporters' questions, including why he had killed his mother-in-law and whether he had done so for revenge.

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