"There's a serial killer in my neighborhood who only wants to have long hair." Decisive evidence of the killer.

■ Broadcasting: FM 94.5 (06:40~06:55, 12:40~12:55, 19:40~19:55)
■ Broadcast Date: November 5, 2024 (Tue)
■ Host: Lee Won-hwa Lawyer
■ Dialogue: Attorney Kim Deok-jin

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information.

◆ Lawyer Lee Won-hwa (hereinafter referred to as Lee Won-hwa): It would have been around May-June 2000. There were very violent ghost stories circulating in Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do. The contents of the ghost story were that there was a serial killer aiming for a woman with long hair every night, so you should be careful. This hideous news spread throughout Ansan, like a virus, perhaps even more terrifying than a virus. The whole city was simply panic. In each neighborhood, neighborhood meetings were held, and there were also announcements to refrain from going out alone at night as much as possible. Then, was the story of the Ansan serial killer who terrorized the residents real? That's right. The story of the serial killer, which had been in anxiety for a while, was not just a rumor circulating. What happened? Incident X file starts right now. Hello, I'm Lee Won-hwa, the case X file of lawyer Lee Won-hwa. Today, we are also with lawyer Kim Deok-jin of Law Firm Roel. Welcome, lawyer.

◇ Lawyer Kim Deok-jin (hereinafter referred to as Kim Deok-jin): Yes, hello. I'm lawyer Kim Deok-jin of Loel Law Firm.

◆ DUALIZATION: There's a serial killer in my neighborhood. I think I'll be really scared and anxious if there's a rumor like this.

◇ Kim Deok-jin: That's right. I think it will be difficult to live my daily life because I am so afraid.

◆ Lee Won-hwa: In 2000, there was a killer in Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, who sought a long hair journey every night. As rumors spread, neighborhood meetings were held and the number of women cutting long hair at hair salons increased. The police probably didn't know about the rumor at the time, but was there any action?

◇ Kim Deok-jin: Even though there were actual incidents before the ghost story spread at the time, the police dismissed it as a ghost story. In fact, however, the police were conducting a closed-door investigation. This is because public investigations create fear and there is a possibility of copycat crimes. In this case, it was converted to an open investigation at the right time.

◆ Binaryization: That's right. In fact, if the public investigation proceeds too quickly, there are many cases where the criminal hides his or her trace or becomes difficult to catch, so in a way, the police investigated it strategically. What happened?

◇ Kim Deok-jin: On April 28, 2000, around 11 p.m., a 24-year-old woman identified by her surname Nam, who lives in Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, was hit in the back of her head and face with a stone by a gunman in the alley in front of her house on her way home from working overtime at work. The criminal searched the bag and pocket of Mr. Nam, who was losing consciousness, and collected 30,000 won, but he did not stop there, took off Mr. Nam's clothes and molested him, and even put a tree branch around him into Mr. Nam's body. An apartment resident found Mr. Nam while passing through an alleyway and reported it to the police. The investigation headquarters was set up immediately, and related investigations began. At that time, however, CCTV installation was not common, and there were no witnesses, so there was no clear clue.

◆ Lee Won-hwa: If you look at the contents, you only say that it's really bizarre, but there are no witnesses and there were no CCTVs at the time. Was it difficult to collect fingerprints on rocks?

◇ Kim Deok-jin: Yes. The only clue was a bloody stone, but it seems that fingerprinting was a little difficult due to the nature of the stone. Two months have passed without much progress in the investigation, and a second murder occurs. A 41-year-old Shin, who was returning home from early morning prayer, was hit in the head with a hammer by a gunman while walking on the road in front of a gas station in Wongok-dong, Ansan, about 1km from the place where the first incident took place at around 4 a.m. on June 19, 20.

◆ Binaryization: The crime has evolved.

◇ Kim Deok-jin: The criminal hit Shin with a hammer twice more and collected 40,000 won from Shin's wallet. The criminal dragged Shin to the side door of the supermarket bathroom next to him, and like the first crime, took off Shin's clothes and damaged his body parts.

◆ Lee Won-hwa: It was 30,000 won before, 40,000 won now, but it was only about that much money that killed people, molested them, and damaged their bodies, but the method seems a little similar. It feels like a serial murder.

◇ Kim Deok-jin: Yes, the police judged that the same person was responsible for the first murder case because the criminal method was similar, but there was no clue. After about a week, another crime occurred. A 33-year-old Kim entered the bathroom on the first floor of the Wa-dong shopping mall building in Ansan City at 2 a.m. on June 25, 20. The gunman who followed tried to hit Kim with a hammer, but he ran away because the crime was not possible. But what's surprising is that the criminal tried to commit this crime as many as three times on the day he committed it.

◆ Binaryization: Three cases a day? So there were other incidents on the same day other than the one you just told me about?

◇ [Kim Deok-jin] Yes, that's right. On the same day, at around 3:45 a.m. on June 25, the criminal found a 34-year-old surnamed Byun on the road in front of a gas station in Singil-dong, Ansan-si, hit him on the head with a stone, collected 200,000 won in cash and three 100,000 won checks, and molested him. And on the same day, the criminal attacked a 20-year-old woman, identified only by her surname Park, who was returning home alone in an alleyway in a residential area in Wongok-dong, Ansan, with a stone. However, Park was already alerted to the report of the incident in Ansan, and turned back and deflected the stone in a moment when the criminal attacked him. And they hit back at the criminal. So the criminal ran away as it was.

◆ [Voiceover] That's great. But there was a victim who witnessed this criminal for the first time.

◇ [Kim Deok-jin] Yes, that's right. The victim, identified only by his surname Park, stated that he was a man in his 20s with shabby clothes. At this time, the police switched to an open investigation, and the local media announced it as a breaking news.

◆ Lee Won-hwa: There are a series of incidents, but there is no clue, so it must have been very frustrating for the police. However, it is not a very decisive clue to solve the case of a man in his 20s, but I think it would have been helpful in the investigation.

◇ Kim Deok-jin: That's right. While there was no clue to the case, we provided the clues necessary to identify the suspect. But then a decisive clue emerged.

◆ Dualization: What was the decisive clue?

◇ Kim Deok-jin: I told you earlier that the criminal attacked a 34-year-old surnamed Byun on the road in front of a gas station in Singil-dong, Ansan-si, and collected three checks. The criminal was caught using a check.

◆ [Dualization] I don't really write checks these days, but if you look at a check, you have that serial number. That's right. And the police must have been keeping a close eye on this part.

◇ Kim Deok-jin: Yes, the police thought they would use the check if they needed money, and Mr. Byun had alerted the bank after checking the number of the stolen check. As expected, the police received a call that the wanted check was recovered on July 10, 2000, two weeks after the last incident.

◆ [Voiceover] You're in the bank. That's right.

◇ Kim Deok-jin: The police took fingerprints from the check, checked the endorser's name and contact information, and investigated the description of the check user at the supermarket where the check was last used.

◆ Lee Won-hwa: But this criminal must have written his name and phone number when he was excreting.

◇ Kim Deok-jin: I don't think you thought about how you should use a fake name.

◆ Binaryization: Maybe you didn't know because you're a foreigner that the check would be specified like that. So did the suspect end up being identified?

◇ Kim Deok-jin: Yes. The suspect has been identified as Wang Liwei, a Chinese citizen who entered the country as an industrial trainee and fled and became an illegal resident.

◆ Dualization: Has this person admitted to the crime? Why do you say you did that?

◇ Kim Deok-jin: He confessed to all the crimes. The reason why Wang Liwei committed the robbery was because he was an illegal resident, and the reason he committed sex crimes was because he was unable to live a smooth sex life due to impotence and had sexism.

◆ It reminds me of a scene from the movie Chaser. This person would have been put on trial, but the crime was not committed, but there were a lot of cases.

◇ Kim Deok-jin: Yes, the police investigation found that Wang Liwei committed a total of 11 crimes in the same way, killed 2 people and seriously injured 9 people. Wang Liwei was charged with two counts of robbery and eight counts of attempted robbery and prosecutors sought the death penalty.

◆ Lee Won-hwa: There is a story that he claimed to be mentally and physically weak, but I don't understand that he is mentally and physically weak after a series of murders. But is this real?

◇ [Kim Deok-jin] Yes, that's right. Wang Liwei claimed it was an accidental crime caused by mental problems and uncontrollable impulses.

◆ DUALIZATION: There was a mental problem. I guess you said that you can't control your impulse.

◇ [Kim Deok-jin] Yes, that's right.

◆ Dualization: So what happened to the outcome of the trial? I wonder if these things were accepted.

◇ Kim Deok-jin: The Suwon District Court, the first trial court, decided that the crime was serious and sentenced to death. Wang Liwei appealed, but the second trial court rejected the appeal, and Wang Liwei appealed, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal and confirmed the death penalty.

◆ DUALIZATION: 2000 is a lot more than 20 years from now, but even if you ask for the death penalty, it's very rare that the court actually sentences the death penalty. We don't have many practical opportunities. However, it seems to be a situation in which you once again realize how terrible this case was through the results of the trial.

◇ Kim Deok-jin: That's right. Currently, Korea is a country that actually abolished the death penalty, so there is no execution. As of August 2023, there are a total of 59 people on death row, of which the only foreign use is Wang Liwei.

◆ Dualization: Is it the only death row?

◇ [Kim Deok-jin] Yes, that's right. Wang Liwei will live in prison for the rest of his life.

◆ Lee Won-hwa: Case X File Today, we looked at the Chinese death row case that committed two robbery murders and eight attempted robbery murders of women in the Ansan area. It's about 31 million won a year to manage one of my devices. Since the culprit of this case was arrested in 2000, a huge amount of taxes have already been spent for 24 years this year. I think it was an event that made me think about various things. That's all we've prepared for today. You all deserve to be defended. Incident X file, thank you everyone.