I feel like a celebrity, says accused killer

A man who allegedly murdered a woman in a unisex washroom in Seoul’s Gangnam District in May shocked attendees at a trial in Seoul Central District Court on Friday when he said, "I feel like I am a celebrity." / Korea Times file

By Ko Dong-hwan

A man accused of murdering a woman for no reason shocked people at a trial in Seoul Central District Court when he said, “I feel like I am a celebrity.”

The man, 34, surnamed Kim, also said, “I never imagined I would be this popular,” according to media reports.

Bereaved family members of the victim, 22, were in the court on Friday for the first day of the trial.

Kim allegedly murdered the woman, a stranger to him, in May.

Media coverage has angered the public, who have heard that the killing happened solely because of Kim’s misogynistic nature.

One netizen said, “I hope his record of entering mental institutions does not prevent him from rotting in jail for life.”

Another said,“He still has no idea after committing a murder for no reason.”

Kim also told the court he no longer wanted a lawyer. A public defender said Kim had kept avoiding seeing him.

The follow-up court on Sept. 9 will question Kim’s employer, the victim’s mother and a psychiatrist who once studied him.

Kim started to show signs of mental illness when he was middle school student. Because of his condition, he was exempted from mandatory military service.

The murder happened on May 17 in a building near Seoul’s Gangnam Subway Station, one of the nation’s busiest subways. Gangnam is a popular nightlife district.

Carrying a concealed knife, Kim waited for about 50 minutes inside a unisex washroom until a woman entered. He then stabbed her to death.

Kim has been hospitalized for schizophrenia more than six times since 2009.

Since he last left the hospital in January, he had not taken his medication or received treatment and had lived on the streets since March, according to Yonhap news agency.

During the investigation, Kim told police he had been suffering from stress because of women.