Police investigating last week’s kidnapping and murder of a woman are expanding their probe considering the possibility of a mastermind behind the crime, officials said Tuesday.
Three suspects were formally arrested Monday for allegedly abducting a 48-year-old woman in Seoul’s posh Gangnam district last Wednesday and killing her the following day.
The Suseo Police Station in southern Seoul said one of the suspects, surnamed Lee, received tens of millions of won from a woman, surnamed Hwang, and her husband before the incident.
The police are looking into whether the payment is linked to the crime and have barred the couple from leaving the country.
According to legal sources, Lee, the murder victim and Hwang were co-investors in a cryptocurrency in 2021.
After the digital currency fell sharply in February of that year, Lee, the victim and other investors believed Hwang manipulated the token’s price. They extorted 190 million won (US$144,460) worth of cryptocurrency coins from her.
Lee and the victim were investigated by police for blackmailing Hwang and only Lee was transferred to the prosecution for further investigation.
Lee has since maintained a close relationship with Hwang, according to sources.
The murder victim was a public relations official of the company that issued the digital currency and Lee also once worked for the company.
Lee and his two accomplices are accused of kidnapping the woman near an apartment building in Gangnam Ward on Wednesday night, killing her the following day and burying her body on a hill in Daejeon, about 140 kilometers south of the capital. They were detained Friday.
Investigators initially believed that Lee masterminded the crime.
The other two accomplices told the police that Lee proposed the kidnapping to steal the victim’s money and that they planned the crime for two to three months.
Lee denied the charge, but the police confirmed he gave 7 million won to one of the accomplices, surnamed Hwang, after proposing the crime.
The police on Tuesday requested an arrest warrant for another man suspected of involvement in the case.
The man in his 20s confessed that he joined the crime in January following a promise from Hwang to buy him a car, police said.
He told police he tailed and monitored the victim before quitting in mid-March.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said it will decide Wednesday whether to make public the personal details of the three detained suspects.
Under criminal law, law enforcement can disclose the identities of suspects in heinous crimes for public safety.
Source: Yonhap News Agency