'True Culprit Controversy' Lee Chun-jae 8th Case Retrial First Hearing Today... Lee Chun-jae Absent

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The first retrial hearing for the 8th case of the serial murders by Lee Chun-jae, which sparked controversy over the true culprit, will be held on the 19th.

The Criminal Division 12 of Suwon District Court (Chief Judge Park Jung-je) will hold the retrial hearing for the 8th case of Lee Chun-jae at 11 a.m. at the Suwon Court Complex.

Lee Chun-jae will not attend the trial on that day. At the preparatory hearing held earlier, the court accepted all witnesses except Lee Chun-jae from the 17 witnesses requested by the prosecution and the 6 witnesses requested by the defense, including Lee Chun-jae.

Whether Lee Chun-jae will be accepted as a witness is expected to be decided in future hearings.

The preparatory hearing is a procedure before the formal trial, where the court listens to the evidence plans of both the prosecution and defense and selects necessary evidence and witnesses.

This trial was initiated after Yoon Mo (53), who claimed to have been wrongfully imprisoned for 20 years as the suspect of the 8th case among the serial murders that occurred in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province in the 1980s, filed for a retrial.

The 8th case refers to the incident on September 16, 1988, when the 13-year-old daughter of Park Mo was found sexually assaulted and dead at her home in Jinan-ri, Taean-eup, Hwaseong-gun, Gyeonggi Province.

Yoon, who was arrested as the suspect at the time, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial and appealed, denying the charges by claiming "a false confession under police coercion." However, both the second and third trials rejected this and upheld the first trial's verdict.

Yoon served 20 years and was paroled in 2009. After Lee Chun-jae's confession of the crime, he filed for a retrial in November last year, and the court decided to commence the retrial on January 14.