Wu Yuanchun

By Yi Whan-woo

A Korean-Chinese immigrant worker was sentenced to death Friday for murdering a 28-year-old woman and dismembering her body.

The Suwon District Court handed down the death sentence to Wu Yuanchun, 42, saying that he deserved capital punishment for his horrendous crime and his lack of remorse.

“He not only killed the victim, following a detailed plan, but also dismembered the body,” a judge said. “Yet he has not shown any sign of regret for his brutal acts, which are unforgivable for any reason.”

The court also ordered Wu to wear an electronic anklet for 30 years and for his personal information to be made public for 10 years.

Wu abducted and murdered the woman on the night of April 1 nearby his house in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, and chopped her body into 356 pieces.

He was apprehended at his house hours the next morning, remaining calm despite police finding him cutting up the corpse.

The incident sparked public anger after it was found that the woman called the 112 Crime Report Center for help before she was killed, but officers failed to take immediate and proper action to come to her rescue.

Civic groups also raised doubts on the investigation by both the police and the prosecution.

The bereaved family was against the court’s decision. They claimed the case involves more than the murder and attempted rape, and Wu must remain alive so he can reveal “the complete truth.”

“We believe Wu committed other grave crimes and all of them must be brought to justice,” the brother of the victim said.

Wu first told investigators that he committed the crime “accidentally” after the victim ran into him in the dark and refused to apologize. He also said he only intended to rape the woman until she resisted and became uncontrollable.

Footage of a surveillance camera, however, revealed Wu attacking the victim first and dragging her into his home. Signs of attempted rape were not discovered either. The bereaved family called for a detailed probe, including a possible link between Wu and a Chinese criminal gang which allegedly smuggled human body parts.

The bereaved family cited the smuggling of the so-called “human flesh capsules,” made of dead human fetuses or infants, from China that rocked the country recently. The family has claimed Wu could have been a member of such a gang although the prosecution failed to find any link.

The court also recognized such a possibility despite lack of evidence.

“The court finds it a reasonable argument that Wu’s crime was intended for the trafficking of human body parts rather than rape”, the judge said. “It’s suspicious that the murderer took about six hours to cover up the scene, twice as long as in similar crime cases.

“Also while the corpse was sliced into many pieces, all the organs remained undamaged, so there needs to be a clear explanation.”