Suspected killer planned another revenge murder

A man suspected of killing a 35-year-old woman kidnapped her as part of a plan to murder a man for revenge, police said Sunday.

An arrest warrant was issued Saturday against suspect Kim Il-gon on charges of kidnapping and strangling the victim to death in Asan, South Chungchoeng Province. He was detained Thursday in Seoul, eight days after he allegedly put her body in the trunk of a car and set it on fire.

The police said the 48-year-old suspect kidnapped the victim to allure karaoke worker “A,” a man he was originally planning to kill for revenge. The personal information of “A” was withheld.

Kim and “A” were involved in an assault case over a traffic lane violation issue in a mild car accident in May. While Kim was fined, “A” was acquitted, police said.

Kim had visited the workplace of “A” seven times and asked him to pay back the fine but was rebuffed, so he decided to murder “A” by enticing him with a woman. Kim allegedly planned to ask the victim to contact “A” by posing as a job seeker, investigators said.

The suspect then kidnapped the victim at a parking lot of a market but strangled her to death as she resisted, they added.

Asked why he brutally damaged the victim’s body, Kim testified that he was outraged over the failed plan and that the victim had insulted him. Kim claimed that he felt sorry for the victim as he had not intended to kill her, police said.

On Saturday, the suspect expressed his intention to kill “A” to the gathered media as he was being taken to the court for arrest warrant screening.

Kim was also found with a note listing the names of 28 people with whom he thought he had conflicts. The two-page note found in his pocket included names of judges, doctors and police officers.

The name of “A” was on the list, they said.

During a probe, he muttered to himself, saying, “I need to kill all of them,” police said.

The suspect was found to have 22 criminal convictions including assault.

Investigators are probing whether Kim made further murder plans or committed other crime.

By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)