Stole 120,000 Won and Bought a Lotto Ticket First... The Full Story of the 'Rent-a-Car Murder Case'

Suspect, Office Worker Tormented by Gambling Debt
Police Seize Remaining Amount of 57,000 Won

A man in his 40s from Seosan, Chungnam, who was struggling with gambling debts, was arrested on charges of murdering a rental car driver and setting the vehicle on fire. The suspect was investigated to have first purchased a 'lottery ticket' with cash stolen from the victim.

According to Yonhap News and others on the 11th, the Seosan Police Station arrested a man in his 40s, identified as A, on suspicion of robbery and murder around 4 p.m. the previous day. A is accused of entering a rental car parked at a restaurant parking lot in Dongmun-dong, Seosan, around 10 p.m. on the 8th, killing the driver B, and stealing 120,000 won.

On the 8th, a man in his 40s, Mr. A, set fire to a rental car in Dongmun-dong, Seosan-si, Chungnam. Image courtesy of Seosan Fire Station

After committing the crime, A drove B's car himself, left the parking lot, and abandoned the body and mobile phone. He then fled after setting the car on fire in an open space near a mountain behind an apartment complex about 1.3 km from the crime scene.

The police began their investigation after receiving a missing person report from B's family on the 9th and arrested A on the afternoon of the 10th. The investigation revealed that A purchased a lottery ticket and had a meal with the stolen 120,000 won. The police confiscated the remaining 57,000 won from A. A is known to be an office worker, has children, but is currently divorced.

A told the police, "I committed the crime because I had no living expenses due to gambling debts and other debts," and "I stole money from the victim's wallet and used it to buy a lottery ticket and have a meal." He also confessed that since the rental car was a luxury vehicle, he assumed the driver would have cash, which led him to target B.

The police plan to apply for an arrest warrant for A once the detailed investigation into the circumstances of the incident is completed.