Police on Saturday arrested Jo Sung-ho, the suspect in a case involving a dismembered body found in Daebudo Island at Gyeonggi province’s Ansan city last month, revealing his full name and face to the public in a rare occurrence.
Jo, 30, appeared for his arrest warrant hearing without a mask covering his face. His name and other details were revealed after the warrant was issued.
 |
Jo's Facebook account is now deactivated. (Jo Sung-ho's Facebook) |
The police said the degree of brutality of the crime and the provided evidence that pointed to Jo’s guilt gave them grounds to respond to the public’s rights to know.
His personal life leading up to the alleged crime has since been dug up and has gone viral online.
The police’s decision rekindled debate over revealing the identities of suspects before they are tried, with some pointing to the authorities’ lack of consistency in their decisions.
The special law on punishing violent crimes was revised in 2009 to allow disclosure of a suspect’s identity in cases that involve violent crimes, such as murder and rape, with ample evidence backing suspicions and provided the suspect is not underage.
The grotesque murder of a 40-year-old man surnamed Choi had come to light after a tourist at Daebudo Island found a gunny sack in a trench containing the severed lower-half of the man’s body on May 1.
An intensive police investigation involving more than 900 policemen as well as a couple of drones and boats ensued, leading to the discovery of the upper half of the body at the island’s northernmost wharf on May 3.
A surveillance camera had recorded footage of Jo by himself at the wharf unloading an object believed to be the body from a rented vehicle and deserting it. Police detained him on May 5.
In the police interrogation, Jo reportedly testified to having shared housing with the victim at Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, to save on costs. The two had gotten acquainted at an inn where Jo had been manning a counter.
Jo initially testified that he had only accidentally committed the crime in March after Choi repeatedly belittled him for being younger and ordered him to clean their flat. However, further questioning led him to confess that he had premeditated the crime after Choi verbally abused him by insulting his parents.
 |
(Jo Sung-ho's Facebook) |
The police are looking into whether there could have been other motives or accomplices, as the violence Jo inflicted on Choi is uncommon for a first-time offender.
In the latest confession, Jo said he had used a hammer he had prepared in advance to assault the sleeping Choi.
The police said that Jo then kept Choi’s body in the flat’s bathroom for over 10 days during which time he carefully dismembered it into two halves for separate disposals. Choi’s body was found with collapsed facial bones and rib cage, with multiple stab wounds on his chest, arm and buttock.
Jo had not fled from the flat afterwards, claiming he had been unaware that he was wanted as he only watched movie channels on TV and not the news.
The police said it was unusual for a person who is as active as Jo on social media to not keep tabs on the developments of a crime he was involved in. They will continue to investigate for missing details.
Those acquainted with Jo said in news reports that he had no outstanding conflicts in his social life. He had graduated from a high school in Uijeongbu and matriculated to a university in Seoul.
He had reportedly run a pet cafe in his Uijeongbu neighborhood, but business went sour after his then-girlfriend allegedly ran away with vital assets.
Jo’s Facebook account showed he had been worrying about his future career even after he had committed the murder.
The police’s decisions on revealing the identities of suspects have often swung back and forth.
In a previous case, a couple who was sentenced to prison terms in April for abusing their 7-year-old son to death and deserting his body had their identities protected, except for their last names, ages and the general area of their residence, despite the angered public’s demands to know their personal details.
Those in favor of revealing suspects’ identities cite the need to send a message against violent crimes and the right for the public to know. Those against it point to the principle of innocent until proven guilty.
By Lim Jeong-yeo (
kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)
