Identity of 61-Year-Old Kang Seongeun, Suspect in Jeju 'Retaliatory Murder of Former Partner' Case, Revealed

Meets criteria, including brutality and serious harm

Repeated stalking before attacking with a weapon and thinner

Forcibly tore off victim's personal safety smartwatch

The name, age and mugshot of Kang Seongeun, 61, who was arrested and sent to the Prosecution Office in custody on suspicion of stalking and committing dating violence against his former partner in Jeju, then killing the victim in retaliation after holding a grudge over her report to police and forcibly tearing off the personal safety smartwatch she was wearing, have been made public. The decision was made by a police review committee after considering the brutality of the crime, the severity of the harm and the public interest.

A mugshot of suspect Kang Seongeun, 61, who was arrested and referred to prosecutors on suspicion of murdering his former partner in retaliation after repeatedly stalking and abusing them during their relationship on Jeju Island. The Jeju Police Agency has been publishing Kang's name, age, and left-profile, front-facing, and right-profile photos on its website for 30 days starting on the 29th. Photo provided by the Jeju Police Agency.

According to the Jeju Police Agency on October 30, the police posted identifying information about Kang on its website for 30 days starting at 10 a.m. on October 29. Kang was sent to the Prosecution Office in custody on October 28 on suspicion of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (including retaliatory murder), special trespassing, special confinement and attempted special confinement, preparing to commit arson against an occupied building, violating the Act on Punishment of Stalking Crimes, and violating the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes (threatening someone using images or videos).

Earlier, on October 23, the police convened a review committee on the disclosure of identifying information. After comprehensively reviewing the statutory requirements for disclosing the identities of suspects in certain serious crimes—including the brutality of the methods used, the serious harm caused, whether sufficient evidence had been secured, the public's right to know and the prevention of repeat offenses—the committee determined that disclosure was necessary.

Kang is suspected of killing a woman in her 40s, identified as A, with a weapon he had prepared in advance after forcibly taking her away in his vehicle. The incident occurred at around 1:38 a.m. on October 12, in front of an officetel in Yeondong, Jeju City, as she was returning home.

A police investigation found that Kang threatened A in March, saying he would distribute a video of her. Even after they broke up in August, he repeatedly visited her, continuing to stalk and commit dating violence against her. After she reported him to police several times, he allegedly held a grudge and committed the crime.

Investigators found that Kang had carefully planned the crime: he bought a weapon a month beforehand and, on the day of the incident, went to A's home carrying the weapon and thinner, a flammable substance.

At the time of the crime, A was wearing a personal safety smartwatch provided by the police. However, Kang forcibly tore it off, leaving her unable to make an emergency call before she was killed. The smartwatch was found near the crime scene, with its watch body separated from its band.

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