Police cited 'delusion' as the motive in the case where a man in his 60s killed his son with a homemade firearm during a birthday party.
On the 29th, police held a briefing at the Incheon Police Agency and stated that the suspect A (62), who committed the murder with a homemade firearm at an apartment in Songdo, Incheon, felt isolated after his divorce from his ex-wife and became delusional.
Prior to this, A is accused of shooting his son B (33) with a homemade gun at approximately 9:31 p.m. on the 20th, which is his birthday, at his apartment on the 33rd floor in Songdo-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon. A is the ex-husband of C, the head of a famous cosmetics company. They divorced in 2000. Before the divorce, A was sentenced to a suspended prison term for charges of rape and injury in 1999.
However, according to a statement from the bereaved family, A lived with his son B until B got married even after the divorce. B's mother, C, informed him of the divorce only after he got married, and B did not let his father know that he was aware of the divorce. C continued to provide financial support to her ex-husband A after the divorce.
In this regard, a police official said, 'The victim's side considered A to be part of the family and treated him well, but A shifted all responsibility onto his family.' He added, 'The ex-wife (C) maintained courtesy by saying, 'Because he's the children's father,' and the son thought, 'Because he's my father,' yet A seems to have developed a delusion that the other family members ostracized and alienated him.'
A police official said, 'A and his ex-wife divorced 25 years ago, but they made it a point to visit during holidays and birthdays, fulfilling their responsibilities,' adding, 'It was found that they were generous with financial support, depositing large amounts into personal accounts.'
Regarding A's life after the divorce, a police official stated, 'While he went through a consensual divorce with his ex-wife during his imprisonment for another crime in 1998, he lived with her until their son got married.' They confirmed that there had been no apparent conflicts or disputes until now. A received ongoing support for living expenses, graduate school tuition, communication expenses, national pension, birthday gifts, apartment utility bills, and repair costs even after the divorce.
A claimed during the profiler investigation that he faced financial difficulties, but he stated to the police that it was not his motive for the crime. He argued in the police investigation that 'the other family members conspired to set me up.'
A police official explained, 'A gradually became consumed by feelings of isolation and lost his pride as the head of the family, appearing psychologically diminished.' He added, 'It seems that these complex factors intertwined, leading to his delusion that he had been planning and preparing for the crime since August of last year.'
Police believe A intended to kill four people present during the crime: his daughter-in-law, two grandchildren, and a foreign tutor who was a friend of his daughter-in-law. According to police, A had four barrels and 15 rounds of ammunition at the time of the crime, and while aiming a gun at other family members inside the house, he said, 'Come here.'
Police suspect that he intended to kill them to prevent them from reporting. They also plan to review whether to apply additional charges for the use of explosives related to A's installation of homemade explosives at his residence in Dobong-gu, Seoul.