'The Chaser' Based on Yoo Young-cheol's Capture, Real Person Arrested on Drug Trafficking Charges

Philopon Sales Allegation, Police Request Arrest Warrant

A figure who helped capture serial killer Yoo Young-chul in 2004 and served as the inspiration for the 2008 film The Chaser has been arrested on charges of drug trafficking.

According to Yonhap News Agency on the 9th, the Songpa Police Station in Seoul arrested Mr. Noh (51) at a lodging facility on the 7th on charges of selling methamphetamine (violation of the Narcotics Control Act).

[Photo by Yonhap News]

Noh, who was a brothel owner, is well known for helping capture serial killer Yoo Young-chul in July 2004 along with other business owners. At that time, he received a reward of 25 million won. Noh was the inspiration for the character Eom Jung-ho (played by Kim Yoon-seok) in the film The Chaser, who shouts "4885, right?" to the serial killer Ji Young-min (played by Ha Jung-woo).

However, afterward, Noh fell into drug addiction and was repeatedly imprisoned on charges including drug use. It is known that in October 2015, he was sentenced to three years in prison for again using drugs.

During the trial at that time, Noh's side pleaded, "I could not quit drugs due to trauma from the Yoo Young-chul case," but the court sentenced him to a heavy sentence, stating, "He committed another crime just five months after release and only blames government agencies, showing no signs of remorse."

Currently, Noh is suspected of selling methamphetamine, a narcotic. The police obtained related intelligence and tracked Noh, eventually raiding the lodging facility where he was staying and arresting him. On the 8th, they also applied for an arrest warrant. The police plan to investigate the specific details of the crime and whether he used drugs.

Meanwhile, Yoo Young-chul is a criminal who, from September 2003 to July 2004, killed 20 "strangers" in the Seoul metropolitan area solely for the purpose of "killing brutally."