Guro 'Corpse' Was Chinese National, Had Been in ICU Before Death... Police: 'Cause of Death Under Investigation'

Hospitalized for a pre-existing condition from August 15 to 31

Cohabitant left the country during hospitalization

Arrest warrants for two suspects denied

It has been confirmed that the person who died in the “mummified body” case, in which a body was found in a residential area of Guro-gu, Seoul, had been admitted to an intensive care unit for a pre-existing condition before his death. Police are investigating his movements after he was discharged and the exact circumstances of his death.

Go Beomseok, commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, speaks during a parliamentary audit held by the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee at the agency’s headquarters in Seoul on the 15th of last month. Yonhap News

Go Beomseok, commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said at a regular press briefing on the morning of November 2, “The deceased was a Chinese national in his 50s who had a history of receiving inpatient treatment in an intensive care unit for a pre-existing condition for 17 days, from August 15 to 31. An autopsy was conducted, but the exact cause of death has not been determined, and we are still investigating.” The deceased’s authorized period of stay had expired in January 2022.

According to police, after completing his hospital treatment, the deceased was discharged after promising to pay his medical bills later, without paying them at the time. Police are investigating how he returned to his residence after being discharged and when he died. Commissioner Go said, “The suspect says the deceased had a home where he lived, but was found in the vacant house next door. We need to investigate how he got home after being discharged and how he died.”

The person who lived with the deceased was found to have left the country while the deceased was hospitalized. The cohabitant’s authorized period of stay had also expired. The cohabitant had been registered as the deceased’s guardian when he was admitted to the intensive care unit. Police believe the cohabitant was not directly involved in the case, as he was not in South Korea when the deceased died. Asked whether the cohabitant had re-entered the country, Commissioner Go said, “We have only confirmed that the person left the country.”

The exact cause of death remains unknown. The National Forensic Service was also unable to determine the cause in its autopsy. Asked about signs of homicide, Commissioner Go cautioned against drawing conclusions, saying, “I’ll comment on that once the cause of death is determined. It would be inappropriate to speculate about the results.” He added that they would also determine when the deceased died after receiving the final analysis of the cause of death.

Earlier, on October 27, the Guro Police Station in Seoul urgently arrested a man in his 60s, identified as A, on suspicion of abandoning a body, and a man in his 80s, identified as B, on suspicion of ordering the abandonment of a body. Police sought arrest warrants for both men, but the court denied both requests, ruling that there was little risk of flight or destruction of evidence. They were subsequently released.

In police questioning, the two men admitted to disposing of the body but claimed they did not know it was a corpse. A said, “I suspected it might be a body, but followed B’s instructions,” while B claimed, “I only told him to throw away an object that looked like a mannequin.” Asked whether their statements had changed, Commissioner Go replied, “We have not been informed of any further changes since the case was reported in the media.”

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