Serial Killer Lee Chun-jae... "I Like Women with Beautiful Hands"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] It has been revealed that Lee Chun-jae, the true culprit of the Hwaseong serial murder case, held the hand of a female profiler during his confession. Lee Chun-jae admitted, "I touched it because the hand looked pretty." On the afternoon of the 2nd, Lee Chun-jae appeared as a witness at the 'Lee Chun-jae 8th Case' trial held at the Suwon District Court's 12th Criminal Division (Presiding Judge Park Jeong-je) and testified that he was indeed the true culprit of the 10 serial murder cases that occurred in Hwaseong.

The 'Lee Chun-jae 8th Case' refers to the incident on September 16, 1988, in Jinan-ri, Taean-eup, Hwaseong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, where Park Mo (then 13 years old and a middle school student) was sexually assaulted and murdered. The following year, Yoon, who was arrested as the suspect, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial but denied the charges, claiming "I made a false confession due to police coercion." However, the second and third trial courts dismissed this claim. After serving 20 years and being paroled in 2009, Yoon filed for a retrial last November following Lee Chun-jae's confession.

On that day, when asked during an investigation in prison, "Did you touch the female profiler's hand?" Lee Chun-jae answered, "Yes, I did. The hand looked pretty." When asked, "Did you want to touch it because it looked pretty?" he said, "Rather than that thought, I just like women with pretty hands."

Lee Chun-jae apologized to Yoon Seong-yeo, who claimed to have been wrongfully imprisoned for the 'Lee Chun-jae 8th Case,' 32 years after the incident. Lee said, "I hope everything returns to its rightful place and that the future life will be healthier and happier." He added, "I pray for the eternal rest of the victims who died because of me and apologize to the bereaved families and all those involved in the case." He also said, "I believe my testimony here is a small process of consolation, and I hope they can find some peace of mind."

Additionally, Lee Chun-jae expressed his feelings after the police reopened the investigation last year, saying, "I thought what was going to come has come." When asked if he thought of his family during the reinvestigation, he said, "Everything just passed by like a blur." Lee explained that when the police came to the prison and questioned him based on DNA test results, he confessed to all 14 murder cases he committed in Hwaseong and Cheongju in the 1980s. He mentioned that after confessing to the cases, he lost contact with his family.

Meanwhile, the court ruled that Lee Chun-jae was only a witness and prohibited filming, so no photos or videos were taken by the media. However, considering the high public interest in Lee Chun-jae's testimony, the court arranged not only the main courtroom with 88 seats (operating 44 seats due to social distancing) but also an additional relay courtroom to allow as many spectators as possible to attend the trial.