"Offering 20 Million Won"... The Full Story of the Murder Case at a Famous Jeju Restaurant

Testified by a person close to the victim
that money was received in advance as payment for the crime

A man in his 50s suspected of murdering the owner of a famous restaurant in the Jeju area is being escorted to the detention center of Jeju Dongbu Police Station on the morning of the 20th. Photo by Yonhap News

Kim, a suspect arrested for murdering the owner of a famous restaurant in Jeju who lived alone, claimed that he received about 20 million won in advance as payment for the crime from Park, who was close to the victim.

According to the police on the 22nd, the Jeju Eastern Police Station secured a statement from Kim, who was arrested on charges of murdering a woman in her 50s who owned a restaurant in Jeju, saying, "I received about 10 million won via bank transfer and 10 million won in cash from Park, totaling about 20 million won as payment for the crime."

Park, who is accused of instigating the murder, is a senior-junior acquaintance with Kim from their hometown and was close to the victim. The police are investigating on the premise that Park, who was close to the deceased woman, frequently quarreled with the victim over financial issues since August and gave Kim the password, suggesting a high possibility that Park instigated the crime for financial gain. It was confirmed that Park was in Yangsan, Gyeongnam, on the day the victim was killed.

Contrary to his initial statement that "it was accidental," Kim testified that he received instructions from Park such as "You can hospitalize the victim," "Make her lie down," and "It's okay if she can't get up," which he understood as meaning "You can kill her." Park reportedly stated, "I did instruct the crime, but I only told him to intimidate her," denying direct orders to kill. Additionally, Kim’s wife, Lee, testified, "I knew my husband was doing something bad, but I did not know the exact details of the crime."

Lee, Kim’s wife, was arrested on charges of conspiring to commit murder, and Park was arrested on charges of instigating Kim to commit murder. Furthermore, the police identified circumstances indicating that Kim visited Jeju several times before the crime and received hotel and transportation expenses from Park each time. Kim has admitted to the murder charges during the police investigation.

Kim was arrested on suspicion of breaking into the home of a famous restaurant owner in her 50s in Ora-dong, Jeju City, alone between 3:02 and 3:10 p.m. on the 16th, using a password previously given by Park, and killing the returning victim with a blunt weapon found in the house. At the time of the crime, Kim had prepared clothes to change into after the crime and had meticulously planned the crime, including using someone else’s resident registration card to book a ferry ticket.

On the day of the crime, CCTV footage taken at the entrance of the crime scene in Ora-dong, Jeju City, shows Kim wearing a hat pulled down and covering his face with a black mask. Notably, he was holding a paper bag with a zigzag pattern while wearing gloves.

A police official said, "We are carefully tracking Kim’s movements before the crime through verification of flight and ferry tickets."