Prosecutors on Friday indicted a trio of murder suspects and a couple, all arrested earlier this month in connection with last month's kidnapping and murder of a woman in southern Seoul.
The trio -- Lee Kyeong-woo, 36, Hwang Dae-han, 36, and Yeon Ji-ho, 30 -- were charged with kidnapping the 48-year-old woman from Seoul's Yeoksam-dong district at 11:46 p.m. on March 29. They allegedly killed her the following day and buried her body on a hill on the outskirts of the central city of Daejeon, 140 kilometers south of Seoul.
The couple -- named Yoo Sang-won and Hwang Eun-hee -- were also indicted for orchestrating the abduction-murder case, according to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office.
The couple allegedly paid 70 million won (US$52,250) to Lee to kill the victim with whom they had a dispute over a failed cryptocurrency investment.
Hwang and Yeon are accused of participating in the planning and execution of the victim's abduction and murder under Lee's directive.
An acquaintance of Hwang, also surnamed Lee, and his nurse wife, who allegedly provided psychotropic drugs used in the murder, were also charged with being an accessory to the trio's crimes, the prosecution said.
Source: Yonhap News Agency