Prosecution Seeks Death Penalty for Gangnam Kidnapping and Murder Ring Members

The prosecution has sought the death penalty for Lee Kyung-woo (36), the main suspect, along with accomplice Hwang Dae-han (36), and the couple Yoo Sang-won (51) and Hwang Eun-hee (49), who provided criminal funds, all of whom were indicted for kidnapping and murdering a woman in her 40s in Gangnam, Seoul.

Lee Kyung-woo, one of the three suspects arrested for kidnapping, murdering, and disposing of the body of a woman in her 40s in Gangnam, Seoul, is answering questions from the press on the afternoon of April 9 at the Suseo Police Station in Seoul before being transferred to the prosecution.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

At the sentencing hearing held on the 16th under the jurisdiction of the 29th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Seung-jung), the prosecution requested, "Please sentence Lee Kyung-woo and Hwang Dae-han to death, and Yeon Ji-ho (30) to life imprisonment." The couple Yoo Sang-won and Hwang Eun-hee, who were revealed to have provided the funds necessary for the crime and were tried together, were also sentenced to death.

Heo Mo, wife of Lee Kyung-woo, who was investigated for diverting psychotropic drugs used in the murder from the hospital where she worked as a nursing assistant and providing them to the trio, was sentenced to 5 years in prison. Lee Mo, an acquaintance of Hwang Dae-han who assisted in the crime by tracking the victim's movements, was sentenced to 7 years in prison.

They are accused of kidnapping the victim, A, in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul on March 29, putting her in a vehicle, confiscating her mobile phone, injecting her with anesthetics to kill her, and then secretly burying her in a mountain in Daedeok-gu, Daejeon the next day.

Investigations confirmed that the group planned and executed the crime over a period of six months. The couple Yoo Sang-won and Hwang Eun-hee reportedly planned the incident after suffering huge losses and disputes following a large investment in Purever Coin through the victim Choi in October 2020, which severely damaged their relationship.

The couple directly invested 100 million won in Purever Coin and planned to attract 8 billion won in investments, gathering investors to invest an additional 3 billion won. However, the market price plummeted, and conflicts escalated as A refused to distribute the coins and incited investors to file criminal complaints against Yoo Sang-won and Hwang Eun-hee.

Amid this, around July to August 2022, when Lee Kyung-woo proposed the crime, the couple accepted and paid an initial fee of 70 million won. A month later, Lee Kyung-woo, along with Hwang Dae-han and Yeon Ji-ho, began preparing for the crime by purchasing necessary items. It was also confirmed that they believed if Hwang Dae-han and Yeon Ji-ho, who had no prior acquaintance with A, took direct action, A’s disappearance would be treated as such, allowing them to evade investigation by authorities.