Detective admits to coercing confession in serial murders

A police officer has admitted to torturing a 53-year-old surnamed Yun during the investigation into the Hwaseong serial killings from the 1980s to 1990s. Yun was later convicted for the eighth murder in the case.

A local media outlet said Friday that the Suwon Prosecutors’ Office recently called in three former detectives who investigated Yun. One of the officers acknowledged that he had deprived Yun of sleep.

But he denied that he had beat Yun or forced him to do squat jumps as alleged by Yun. He attributed that misconduct to another investigator, who has since died. Previously, all of the detectives denied any wrongdoing.

At Yun and his defense team’s request, prosecutors are revisiting Yun’s conviction for the eighth crime in the Hwaseong serial killings, in which 10 people were raped and murdered in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, from 1986 to 1991.

Sentenced to life in prison, Yun was released on parole in 2009 after serving some 20 years. Last month, he filed for a retrial, citing malfeasance including the police’s abuse of power during his investigation, after Lee Chun-jae, who was convicted of raping and killing his sister in law, admitted to the serial killings.

Meanwhile, a local media outlet said Friday that a former National Forensic Service employee recently questioned by the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office refused to open up. Prosecutors were looking into his involvement in the fabrication of a lab report that led to Yun’s conviction.

Prosecutors have already revealed that the National Forensic Service manipulated the lab report so that Yun’s body hair matched that of a potential suspect. They are searching for other forensic workers involved in the report.

By Choi Si-young (siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com)