'Gangnam Officetel Mother-Daughter Murder' Park Hak-seon Sent to Prosecution... "I'm Sorry"

Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency Releases Mugshots, Names, and Ages

Park Hak-seon (65), who is accused of stabbing and killing a mother and daughter with a weapon in an officetel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, has been handed over to the prosecution while in custody.

Mugshot of Park Hak-sun released by Seoul Suseo Police Station. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Mr. Park Hak-seon is attending the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing) held on the afternoon of the 2nd at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

At around 7:40 a.m. on the 7th, Park Hak-seon, who came out of the Suseo Police Station in Seoul for prosecution transfer, responded to reporters' questions such as "Did you commit the crime after hearing a breakup notice?", "Why did you commit the crime against your daughter?", "Why did you discard the weapon elsewhere?", and "Do you have anything to say to the victims?" by saying "I'm sorry" before getting into the transport vehicle.

Park Hak-seon is suspected of wielding a weapon and causing the deaths of a woman in her 60s, Ms. A, and her daughter at an officetel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, around 7 p.m. on the 30th of last month. Ms. A was in a relationship with Park Hak-seon and reportedly met him at her office to convey her intention to end the relationship.

Park Hak-seon fled immediately after the crime and was arrested by the police 13 hours later. The police found the weapon, presumed to have been discarded during the escape, in an apartment park about 2 km away from the crime scene.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Personal Information Disclosure Review Committee decided on the 5th to release Park Hak-seon's mugshot, name, and age. The committee stated, "Considering the brutality of the crime and the seriousness of the damage, sufficient evidence of the crime, public interest such as alleviating public anxiety caused by the crime, and the preventive effect against similar crimes, it was resolved to disclose the personal information."

The so-called 'Mugshot Disclosure Act' (Serious Crime Personal Information Disclosure Act), which allows investigative agencies to forcibly photograph and disclose the faces of suspects in serious crimes, passed the National Assembly plenary session in October last year. The law came into effect on January 25 of this year, and this is the first time the police have disclosed a suspect's mugshot under this law.