Son of 'Seongbuk Murderer' Stole 1.9 Million Won from Three People Under Pretext of Paid Dates

Stole from three people while they showered
"No prior criminal record"; sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years

A man in his 50s was arrested on suspicion of murdering a teenage girl in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. The girl was a victim in a sex-crime case involving the man’s son. It has emerged that the son was also indicted in the past on suspicion of stealing valuables from three people after arranging meetings under the pretext of paid dates.

Police tape is in place at the scene of the murder of a teenage girl in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 11th. Photo by Park Hosu.

According to a court ruling obtained by The Asia Business Daily on the 11th, the Seoul Western District Court on October 15 sentenced a man in his 20s, identified as A, to six months in prison, suspended for two years, after he was indicted on three counts of theft.

In May, A stole two 100,000-won checks, 400,000 won in cash, US$300 and S$20 from B’s wallet while B was in the bathroom taking a shower at a lodging facility in Eunpyeong-gu. The two had agreed to meet for a paid date.

Then, in June, A stole 400,000 won in cash from C’s pants pocket at another lodging facility in Eunpyeong-gu using the same method. The day after that theft, he took 500,000 won in cash and six lottery tickets from D’s wallet while D was showering at a lodging facility in Gwanak-gu. A and D had also agreed to meet for a paid date.

Investigators found that A arranged the meetings through a random-chat app and stole valuables while the other person was showering. The total value of the items A stole in the three incidents was about 1.9 million won. B, C and D, identified in the ruling as victims of the thefts, are different people from the teenage girl who was the victim of the murder.

The court found that A had committed multiple offenses and that the nature of his crimes was serious, given the circumstances and methods of the thefts. However, it considered in sentencing that he admitted to all the offenses and showed remorse, that the amount stolen was not particularly large, and that he had no significant criminal record before the offenses.

A submitted three letters of apology during the trial, according to the ruling.

Meanwhile, A was accused of statutory rape of a minor involving E, a teenage girl, in January. The Seoul Nowon Police Station began investigating after the victim’s parents filed a complaint and, in March, concluded that there was sufficient evidence to support the sex-crime allegation against A. It then referred the case to prosecutors without detaining him, according to reports. A was later detained in connection with the separate theft case and held at the Seoul Nambu Detention Center.

At around 1:40 a.m. on the 11th, A’s father was arrested on suspicion of murdering a teenage girl at an Airbnb lodging in Jeongneung-dong, Seongbuk-gu. He was reportedly heavily intoxicated at the time of the crime.

Police are investigating whether he committed the crime in retaliation for the sex-crime complaint against his son, whether he had planned the crime, and how he found out where the victim was.

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