Reexamining the Heinous Double Life
Only 1% of 1.3 Billion Won in Donations Used for Daughter's Medical Expenses
Telling Daughter "I'm Writing a Book, Let's Take Revenge"
Kwon Il-yong: "There Is Not Even a 1% Chance of Rehabilitation"
[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Nayeon] Although known as a protagonist of heartwarming stories for over a decade, the actions of 'Eogeumni Appa' Lee Young-hak, who committed murder after deceiving the public, have been reexamined, sparking public outrage.
Channel A, on the 17th, uncovered the true nature of Lee Young-hak, the cruel murderer with two faces behind a mask, through the program 'Black: I Saw the Devil' (hereafter 'Black').
According to the report, Lee Young-hak took his middle school second-grade daughter's phone to select a target for his crime, then instructed her to bring a friend home.
After two weeks of persuasion, the daughter eventually lured the victim to their home, and following her father Lee Young-hak's instructions, gave the friend a drink disguised with sleeping pills hidden in cold medicine, causing the victim to fall asleep.
Once the victim was asleep and the daughter sent outside, Lee Young-hak began a horrific sexual assault. When the victim regained consciousness and strongly resisted, he strangled and killed him.
Despite committing such heinous crimes, Lee Young-hak had been known for over ten years as a 'daughter fool' and 'angel dad,' devotedly caring for his daughter who suffered from the rare disease 'giant cementoma.' Therefore, the public shock was even greater when the crime was revealed.
Lee Young-hak suffered from 'giant cementoma,' a rare disease characterized by a massive tumor growing on the cementum of the gums and tooth roots. When his daughter, who was not even two years old, was diagnosed with giant cementoma, he appeared on various broadcasts to raise donations for her treatment.
The tragic story of the father and daughter touched the hearts of the entire nation, and the donations Lee Young-hak received amounted to approximately 1.28 billion won in his personal account alone. However, only 7.06 million won of this was actually spent on his daughter's treatment.
The large sum of donations was used for Lee Young-hak's own double eyelid surgery, genital modification surgery, full-body tattoo procedures, and he even purchased a car in his twenties. Additionally, Lee Young-hak received about 30 million won in insurance payouts over seven years through false traffic accident claims.
His evil deeds did not end there. Lee Young-hak continuously abused his wife, operated an illegal one-person massage parlor, and forced his wife into prostitution.
He also illegally filmed his wife's prostitution scenes and sold the videos. The wife claimed she was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Lee Young-hak's stepfather, and Lee Young-hak even forced her to have sexual relations with her father-in-law again to create evidence of sexual assault.
During this process, the wife ended her life by throwing herself out of a window at their home. However, Lee Young-hak, instead of showing remorse, actively announced her death on social media, filmed a video of himself embalming her body, and offered a broadcasting company "35 million won to air this video."
Jang Jin added, "His wife's body was covered with tattoos bearing words that are hard to speak of." Three days after his wife's death, Lee Young-hak posted an ad saying "Looking for a cohabitant." Profiler Kwon Il-yong analyzed, "He had released his perverted sexual desires on his wife, and after her death, he sought a replacement."
Ultimately, Lee Young-hak committed the crime against a young victim who was easy to control and devised a meticulous plan to disguise the victim's disappearance as a runaway. In this process, Lee Young-hak's daughter acted as bait and an accomplice, even helping to dispose of the deceased friend's body.
Kwon Il-yong explained, "The wife and daughter were subjected to gaslighting for a long time. The daughter was psychologically completely dominated, holding a blind belief that only her father could save her."
The prosecution sought the death penalty, but the court ultimately sentenced Lee Young-hak to life imprisonment. Lee Young-hak submitted 43 letters of remorse, continuously requesting sentence reductions.
In court, Lee Young-hak made statements such as "The prosecutor tried to hit me" and "He insulted my wife." He shed crocodile tears while submitting 43 letters of remorse.
After his sentence was confirmed, Lee Young-hak reportedly sent a letter to his daughter saying, "I am writing a book. Wait about a year. Let's take revenge." Kwon Il-yong dismissed any possibility of rehabilitation for Lee Young-hak, saying, "There is not even a 1% chance."
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