Arrest Warrants Rejected for Landlord in His 80s, Others in 'Guro Body Abandonment' Case

The owner of a multi-family house in his 80s and another man have avoided detention over allegations that they abandoned a body in a residential area of Guro-gu, Seoul.

A view of a row-house and multi-family housing complex in Seoul. Yonhap News Agency.

On October 29, Kim Jihyun, a presiding judge handling warrants at the Seoul Southern District Court, rejected arrest warrants for both men after questioning a man in his 60s surnamed Kim and a man in his 80s surnamed Kim, who are suspected of abandoning a corpse and abetting the abandonment of a corpse, respectively.

Regarding the man in his 60s, who is suspected of personally leaving the body at a trash disposal site in a residential area of Guro-dong, Guro-gu, Judge Kim said, "Considering that he has a fixed residence, admits his wrongdoing and is remorseful, and has no prior criminal record involving a sentence more severe than a fine, it is difficult to conclude that he is likely to flee or destroy evidence." She added, "At this stage, it is difficult to find grounds for detention or to deem detention necessary and appropriate."

She also determined that there was no risk of flight or evidence destruction by the man in his 80s, who is suspected of directing the disposal of the body. Judge Kim said, "Considering his family relationships, advanced age, health, lack of any significant criminal record apart from a punishment 50 years ago, and his conduct during questioning, it is difficult to find grounds for detention or to deem detention necessary and appropriate at this stage."

According to police, the two are suspected of abandoning the body in a pile of trash in a residential area of Guro-gu on October 22. The man in his 80s, who owns the multi-family house, told police that he did not know the item he told his tenant, the man in his 60s, to throw away was a body, and that he had instructed him to discard it because it looked like a doll. The man in his 60s told police that he suspected the item he was throwing away might be a body.

The body they discarded was identified as that of a Chinese national who was staying in the country illegally. There were no signs of homicide, and the cause of death could not be determined because the body had decomposed and dried out. Investigators found that the deceased had lived with his wife in the multi-family house owned by the man in his 80s. Police suspect that the wife fled because she feared that reporting her husband's death would reveal her illegal immigration status.

The body, which had been wrapped in plastic and newspaper, was left for five days before a sanitation worker employed by Guro District Office found it at around 11 a.m. on October 27 and notified police. It was reportedly already mummified, with decomposition and drying having taken place.

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