Kim Young-woo (55), who brutally killed a former partner with a knife and abandoned the body in a wastewater treatment tank, admitted to all the charges at the first trial.
At the first trial held on Mar. 12 under the Cheongju District Court Criminal Division 22 (Presiding Judge Han Sang-won), Kim Young-woo's side said, "We admit all the charges and sincerely apologize to the victim and the bereaved family." Kim was indicted and detained on charges including murder and abandoning a body.
However, Kim Young-woo's side asked the court to dismiss the prosecution's request for an electronic monitoring device (ankle monitor) order and a probation order. Kim's attorney said, "We acknowledge the basic facts, but ask the court to dismiss the (ankle monitor) attachment order and the probation order."
In response, prosecutors noted, "To evade the investigation, the defendant hid the victim's car in different places multiple times, set the victim's phone to airplane mode, and even replaced the company's closed-circuit (CC) TV hard disk just before the crime, committing the crime with great meticulousness."
They continued, "Based on the psychopathy diagnostic test, it was confirmed that (Kim) is a person with low sensitivity to others' pain or emotions. Given the method and circumstances of the crime, the likelihood of reoffending is also deemed very high," again asking the court to accept the electronic monitoring order.
The next trial is scheduled for Apr. 7.
Earlier, on Oct. 14 last year in Jincheon, North Chungcheong, Kim Young-woo was indicted and detained on charges of stabbing and killing former partner A, a woman in her 50s, more than 10 times. Kim, who was running a wastewater treatment company in Jincheon, was found to have abandoned the body in a wastewater treatment tank at a meat-processing company in Eumseong, North Chungcheong, which was his client.
A's body was recovered 44 days after the disappearance based on Kim Young-woo's confession. At the time, police disclosed Kim's personal information, citing the brutality of the crime, the meticulous attempt to conceal it, and the opinions of the bereaved family.