By Kim Tae-jong
A Canadian has turned himself in to police, confessing to the murder of his Korean girlfriend three years ago, police said Tuesday. She was previously thought to have drowned by accident.
Police have sought an arrest warrant for the 38-year-old, who confessed to the crime because of feelings of guilt about her and her family.
According to Yongsan Police Station, the man came to Korea in 2001 to work as an English teacher. He met the then 21-year-old college student in January, 2009 and they started a relationship.
But he soon began having delusions that she would recruit other people to kill him, and out of fear, he decided to murder her.
On March 23, he took her to a deserted area by the Han River in Seoul and jumped into the water holding her.
Then he lied to the police, saying she drowned accidentally while trying to retrieve a tennis ball from the water.
The Canadian denied his involvement in the death and was later freed from the investigation after an autopsy failed to find any evidence to show she was murdered. The case was closed.
He went back to Canada that year but his guilt has finally led him to confess his crime. He came back to Korea Saturday and admitted what he did to the police.