No Disclosure of Personal Information for Man in His 40s Involved in Gwangmyeong Family Murder Case

Police Decide to Keep 'Family Crime' Case Confidential

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The police have decided not to disclose the personal information of a man in his 40s who killed his wife and two sons, one in middle school and one in elementary school, in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province on the 25th.

On the 27th, the Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency announced that they would not disclose the personal information of the suspect in his 40s, Mr. A, who is accused of murder in this case. The decision was made to prevent secondary damage due to the crime being within the family.

According to the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (Special Act on Violent Crimes), personal information such as face, name, and age can be disclosed when the crime method is brutal, serious damage has occurred, and there is sufficient evidence to believe that the suspect committed the crime.

It must also meet conditions such as serving the public interest including the public's right to know, prevention of recidivism, and crime prevention, and the suspect must not be a juvenile.

Although Mr. A’s crime was brutal and resulted in three deaths, and he confessed, considering that it was a 'crime within the family,' it was determined that there is no public interest in disclosing his personal information. This is the reason for the non-disclosure decision.

A police official stated, "Since it is a murder crime within the family, it cannot be seen as having the purpose of preventing recidivism, and we judged that there is no crime prevention effect for the public."

However, in the case of Ko Yu-jeong, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing her ex-husband, her personal information was disclosed despite it being a family crime. It is reported that Ko Yu-jeong has young children from her ex-husband.

At that time, the Jeju Police Agency stated that when deciding to disclose Ko’s personal information, they also fully considered reasons for non-disclosure such as secondary damage that could be inflicted on Ko’s family or those around her.

Mr. A is accused of killing his wife and two sons with a knife and a blunt weapon at an apartment in Soha-dong, Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi Province, around 8:10 to 8:20 p.m.