Possibility of False Testimony and Corpse Abandonment by Lee Gi-young
Difficult to Prove Charges Without Direct Evidence Such as the Corpse
Cases of 'Guilty Verdicts' Based on Evidence Like Weapons and Circumstances
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Park] Lee Gi-young (32), who was arrested and sent to prosecution on charges of murdering a taxi driver and his cohabiting partner, is showing signs that the search for the body of his 50s cohabiting partner A, whom he abandoned, will be prolonged. Although Lee Gi-young confessed to killing and abandoning A, it is difficult to prove specific charges based solely on the confession if the body is not found. The police are putting all their efforts into the search operation, keeping in mind various possibilities such as false statements or loss of the body.
On the afternoon of the 8th, the police searched the parking lot area near Gongneungcheon in Paju-si, Gyeonggi Province, where Lee Gi-young stated he abandoned the body, but ended the search without any significant results. The police have been continuing the search for A’s body for 13 days since the 27th of last month.
The police believe there is a possibility that the body was washed away into the Han River due to heavy rain last summer. The date Lee Gi-young claimed to have buried A’s body was around August 7 of last year, when the central region experienced record-breaking heavy rain for the first time in 80 years.
Lee Gi-young may have given false statements about the disposal location to confuse the investigation. Initially, he said he threw the body into the river but suddenly reversed his statement to say he buried it in the ground the day before being sent to prosecution. During the prosecution transfer on the 5th, he referred to his statement about the disposal location as "the last gift to the police," and the next day, during the body search, he was seen advising investigators digging the ground by saying, "Try giving me a shovel." Experts believe Lee Gi-young is engaged in a power struggle against the police.
If the body is not found until the end, it is expected to be difficult to secure a guilty verdict. This is because it is hard to prove specific charges such as whether it was a homicide, the time of death, and the method of killing. Although Lee Gi-young confessed to killing and abandoning A, under criminal procedure law, it is difficult to prove guilt based solely on the suspect’s confession. Some speculate that Lee Gi-young may have given false statements with the intention of receiving a not guilty verdict.
A representative case occurred in May 2010 in Ham-an, Gyeongnam Province. Bangladeshi national B was indicted on charges of murdering a fellow Bangladeshi colleague at a small business dormitory and abandoning the body. At that time, B denied the crime, and since the body was not found, the case fell into a deadlock. Ultimately, in August 2012, the Supreme Court confirmed the lower court’s ruling acquitting B of murder, stating, "As the victim’s body was not found, it cannot be presumed that the victim died solely based on the fact that the victim is missing."
However, there have been cases where a guilty verdict was confirmed based on indirect evidence even in murder cases without a body. The case of Go Yu-jeong, who killed her ex-husband at a pension in Jeju in May 2019, is an example. Go Yu-jeong dismembered her ex-husband’s body and abandoned it in several locations, so the body was never found. Nevertheless, with Go Yu-jeong’s confession and various evidence such as the murder weapon secured, the Supreme Court confirmed her guilt on charges including murder and corpse desecration.
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