Detective Byungcheon Ko, Who Led the Arrest of "Jijonpa," Passes Away

Detective Ko Byungcheon, Who Led the Arrest of the Jijonpa Serial Murder Gang, Passes Away at 76

Detective Byungcheon Ko, who led the arrest of the serial murder gang "Jijonpa," passed away on the 23rd at the age of 76.

The late Byungcheon Ko. Yonhap News

Ko was born in 1949 in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. After being appointed as a police officer in 1976, he served as a detective at Suwon Police Station in Gyeonggi Province, Seocho Police Station in Seoul, and other locations.

In particular, while serving as the head of the violent crimes unit at Seocho Police Station in 1994, he led the crackdown on Jijonpa, a group that created a "murder factory" and carried out kidnapping and murder targeting the wealthy. Ko also handled cases such as the "On Bohyeon Taxi Kidnapping and Murder Case" and the "Andre Kim Pistol Threat Case."

Until his retirement in 2009, he reflected on more than 30 years of cases and authored essay collections such as "A Dwarf's Right-Hand Traffic" and "Mother's Milk Tastes Sweet."

The funeral hall has been set up in Room 30 of the Seoul Asan Medical Center Funeral Home in Songpa-gu, Seoul.