Prosecutors have requested a third arrest warrant for the suspects who collectively assaulted and killed the late director Kim Chang-min, and it was reported that a shocking transcript suggesting the suspects had intent to kill at the time of the crime has been obtained.
On the 29th, according to SBS reports, the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office Namyangju Branch recently obtained transcripts containing the contents of calls between two suspects. The transcript reportedly includes the remark, "I was so angry I tried to kill him," which is expected to have repercussions. This differs from one suspect's earlier media interview in which he said, "I only hit him three times; I didn't know he would lose consciousness."
The criminal division 2 of the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office Namyangju Branch (Director General Park Shin-young) considered the forensic opinion that he died from brain damage caused by repeated and strong external force, and, concluding that death could have been foreseen at the time of the assault, requested arrest warrants for two suspects on charges of causing death by injury.
The incident occurred in the early morning of Oct. 20 last year in front of a restaurant in Sutaek-dong, Guri. At the time, director Kim visited the restaurant with his son, got into an argument with the suspects over noise, was subjected to a indiscriminate group assault, and ultimately died.
In particular, the new warrant request added a charge of violating the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities in addition to the existing charge of causing death by injury. This reflects that Kim's son, who has developmental disabilities, witnessed his father being brutally assaulted at the scene. The bereaved family has released materials showing the assault and is calling for severe punishment for the perpetrators.
Earlier, the court twice rejected arrest warrants on the grounds that there was "no concern about flight or evidence destruction." However, as prosecutors have newly secured decisive transcripts suggesting a "foreseeable murder" and signs of collusion in their statements, attention is focused on whether the court's judgment on the need for detention will change at this substantive warrant hearing.
Meanwhile, the third pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant substantive hearing) is scheduled to be held on the morning of May 4 at the Uijeongbu District Court Namyangju Branch.
[Photo] Provided by SBS
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