'Thailand Pattaya Murder Case' 20s Suspect Arrested and Indicted

Charges of Robbery, Murder, and Concealment of a Corpse

A man in his 20s, who was arrested in South Korea as an accomplice in the Thailand Pattaya murder case, has been brought to trial.

On the 13th of last month, Mr. A, who is suspected of killing a Korean in Pattaya, Thailand, is being transferred to the Criminal Mobile Unit of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency for a second investigation. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 7th, Yonhap News reported that the Changwon District Prosecutors' Office's special investigation team for the Thailand Pattaya murder case (led by Chief Prosecutor Kang Ho-jun of the Criminal Division 2) has indicted Mr. A, a man in his 20s, on charges of robbery-murder and corpse concealment. Mr. A is accused of kidnapping and murdering Mr. B, a Korean man in his 30s, along with two other Korean accomplices in Pattaya earlier last month, and then abandoning the body.

Previously, Mr. B was found by Thai police in a black plastic drum at a local reservoir in Thailand. Mr. A was urgently arrested by police on the 12th of last month at his residence in Jeongeup, Jeonbuk Province, but he has reportedly denied the crime, claiming he did not commit the murder.

After receiving the case from the police at the end of last month, the prosecution conducted supplementary investigations, including interviewing multiple witnesses and analyzing the accounts and payment records of those involved, and decided to indict Mr. A, believing the charges are sufficiently proven.

A prosecution official stated, "This case is a serious violent crime where suspects targeted tourists' valuables in a foreign country beyond the direct reach of Korea's criminal judicial sovereignty, approached the victim, murdered him, and abandoned the body. The special investigation team will directly handle the prosecution during the trial process and will do their utmost to ensure strict punishment for all accomplices involved by proceeding with the arrest and repatriation procedures of the accomplices."

Among the remaining accomplices in this case, Mr. C, a man in his 20s, was arrested by Cambodian police on the 14th of last month. The prosecution is currently negotiating with Thai police and others regarding Mr. C's repatriation to South Korea. The accomplice Mr. D, who is still on the run, continues to be pursued.