As of the afternoon of the 12th, the Sexual Offender Alert e-site is experiencing delays in access due to a surge in users. / Photo by Internet homepage capture
[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] SBS's "Unanswered Questions" has revisited the perpetrator of the so-called "Sinjeong-dong Bizarre Rabbit Murder Case," a series of murders and attempted kidnappings that occurred in 2005, drawing a surge of visitors to the "Sex Offender Notification e" website.
As of 1 PM on the 12th, the "Sex Offender Notification e" site, which discloses personal information of sex offenders ordered to be made public by court rulings, is experiencing access delays due to heavy traffic.
The previous day's (11th) SBS "Unanswered Questions" episode, titled "The Signature Bizarre Rabbit and Shoe Cabinet of Two Men, and a New Puzzle," covered the Sinjeong-dong serial murder case.
The case involved a woman in her 20s, Ms. A, who lived in Sinjeong-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, found dead on June 6, 2005, in a nearby residential area, wrapped in a rice sack tied with a string. Five months later, on November 20, a woman in her 40s, Ms. B, was found dead again in the Sinjeong-dong residential area, wrapped as if in plastic.
On May 31, 2006, the following year, a victim who had been kidnapped by the perpetrator and taken to a semi-basement unit in a multi-family house narrowly escaped with her life. The survivor, who escaped by hiding behind a shoe cabinet after leaving the house, testified, "There was a 'Bizarre Rabbit' sticker right in front of my eyes." Since then, the case has been known as the "Sinjeong-dong Bizarre Rabbit Case."
Meanwhile, the production team of "Unanswered Questions," with the help of testimonies from victims and informants as well as hypnotic investigation, created a composite sketch of the suspect and began searching for the man based on it.
Unexpectedly, a tip came in suggesting that a duo with prior sexual assault records near Sinjeong-dong in June 2005 was suspected of the earlier incidents.
Busan Gijang Police Station Inspector Jung Woojung informed the production team, saying, "The duo, Jang Seokpil (alias) and Bae Youngho (alias), committed two cases of robbery and rape together in 2008 as well." Jang Seokpil is serving a 12-year prison sentence, and Bae Youngho was sentenced to 10 years and released in 2018.
Bae Youngho lived in Sinjeong-dong, close to the home of Ms. A, the victim of the first murder case.
The production team visited Bae Youngho's home and mentioned Jang Seokpil's name. Bae Youngho showed displeasure and said, "I did manual labor with Jang, but we were not close for long."
He also added, "I'm timid, so I couldn't kill anyone," and said, "If someone said I really did (the crime), who would say 'I did it'? Even if the whole world told me to live in a semi-basement like that, I wouldn't live well there."
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