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'Kim attempted to rape stepdaughter before killing her'
Ansan hostage siege survivor says her father was like beast
By Lee Kyung-min
Kim Sang-hoon
By Lee Kyung-min
The “hostage killer” Kim Sang-hoon attempted to rape his 16-year-old stepdaughter before killing her on Tuesday, police said Friday.
This comes from testimony given by her older sister who survived the siege at her father’s house in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province. Kim was apprehended by the police SWAT team, Wednesday, after the overnight siege.
According to police, the elder stepdaughter testified that, “Kim untied my sister’s hands and touched her breasts. He tried to rape her, but failed.”
“He then masturbated before her, saying, ‘My love, you are mine’.”
According to Kim’s wife, Kim sexually harassed his stepdaughter when she was only nine years old, police said.
On Tuesday, Kim killed his wife’s ex-husband, surnamed Park, at his house. He then took his two stepdaughters and Park’s girlfriend hostage. Kim later said he killed Park because he thought his wife and Park were having an affair.
Police said Kim lost custody of his 8-year-old mentally-ill daughter in 2013 after being found that he molested her in his home in Daegu years ago.
In 2013, the victim told her teacher about the sexual abuse. Police launched an investigation into the case, and Kim lost custody of her, police said.
When facing the reporters on Thursday, Kim showed no remorse, blaming the killings on his ex-wife for having an affair.
Claiming he is also a "victim," he said he killed the younger stepdaughter because police provoked him.
According to Pyo Chang-won, chief of the Pyo Institute of Crime Science and former professor at the National Police Academy, Kim showed typical behavior of someone suffering from a sexual obsession, such as pedophilia.
Such a disorder is of an obsessive/compulsive nature, and prevalent in sociopaths, he added.
People suffering from such deviancy seek sexual activity to ventilate anger and frustration, many of them use violence, which can often results in deaths, he added.
Such criminals include the serial killer in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, who raped and killed women in 1986, he added.
Although Kim showed symptoms of such a disorder, it would not lessen his punishment on grounds of incapacity to stand trial or of mental incompetency, he added.
Such people are known for a high rate of recidivism, which means the prosecution would argue he poses a grave threat to society, and ask for a harsher punishment, said Pyo.
The professor also pointed out that Kim’s sociopathic nature was proven by the way he responded to his charges, barely showing remorse and refusing to admit his crime then blaming others instead of taking responsibility for his actions.
Meanwhile, public criticism of police has grown with claims they were disorganized during the whole situation and failed to get basic facts straight.
Police first said that Kim took his own daughters hostage, but later said they were his stepdaughters.
In response to such criticism, Choi Seong-jae, a criminology professor and senior inspector at the Korean National Police University admitted that there is no manual for a hostage situation.
"The existing ones are all about direction, team management, protocols, and who has the authority to order and who is held accountable for which action," he said. "It's all about procedural guidelines, not specific instructions."
Choi also dismissed the public criticism that the younger daughter would still be alive if the SWAT team had intervened sooner.
"People think a prompt crackdown may save as many lives as possible, but such action would only further agitate the hostage-taker, causing him to kill more," he said.