Suspect Jeon Juhwan (31) in the Sindang Station stalking murder case / Photo by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency
[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The personal information of Jeon Joo-hwan (31), who was arrested on charges of murdering a patrolling station staff member, has been disclosed.
On the 19th, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that the Personal Information Disclosure Review Committee (the Committee) decided to disclose the suspect Jeon Joo-hwan’s face, name, and age after deliberation.
The Committee explained that the decision to disclose personal information was made considering the severity and brutality of the crime, such as premeditated murder of the victim in a public place, sufficient evidence including confession and issuance of an arrest warrant, and public interest factors such as prevention of similar crimes like stalking and risk of reoffending.
The Committee consisted of seven members: three internal police members and four external members. The external members were selected from the Committee’s personnel, including professors, lawyers, psychologists, doctors, and female crime experts.
Jeon Joo-hwan is accused of murdering victim B, who was patrolling, in the women’s restroom at Sindang Station in Seoul around 9 p.m. on the 14th. The police are investigating the case as a planned crime. This is based on the fact that on the day of the crime, Jeon visited Jeungsan Station and Gusan Station to access the company network to identify B’s workplace, wandered near B’s former residence, and waited for about 1 hour and 10 minutes in front of the restroom wearing a disposable shower cap on his head.
Accordingly, the police decided to apply the charge of retaliatory murder under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes against Jeon Joo-hwan. The minimum sentence for retaliatory murder under this law is 10 years or more, which is higher than the 5 years or more for murder under the Criminal Act. However, it is known that Jeon told the police he committed the murder impulsively due to depression. On the 16th, the court issued an arrest warrant for Jeon Joo-hwan, citing "concerns about evidence and flight risk."
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