'Reapplication for Arrest Warrant of Motel Owner on Charges of Instructing Murder of Yeongdeungpo Building Owner'

The police have re-applied for an arrest warrant for a man in his 40s, a motel owner, who is accused of ordering the murder of a building owner in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul.

On the 6th, the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul announced that they had applied for an arrest warrant for a man in his 40s, Jo, on charges of inciting murder.

According to the police, Jo is suspected of ordering Kim, a man in his 30s who killed Yoo, an 80-year-old building owner, on the rooftop of a building in Yeongdeungpo-gu on the 12th of last month. Jo is also accused of destroying evidence, such as deleting CCTV footage showing Kim’s escape route.

Jo is a motel owner near the building where the incident occurred and is believed to have been renting parking lot space from Yoo by paying monthly rent. Kim works as a manager and parking attendant at the motel operated by Jo.

The police applied for arrest warrants for both Kim and Jo on the 14th of last month, but only Kim’s warrant was issued. The court at the time dismissed Jo’s warrant, stating that "the credibility of the main evidence, the accomplice (Kim)’s testimony, is insufficient."

The police are reported to have strengthened the evidence supporting the charges through additional investigations, including restored CCTV footage and mobile phone video materials.