Ex-convict arrested on charges of killing officer

Seong Byeong-dae, center, who killed a policeman with a homemade gun in a recent gunfight, is moved to a prison van that took him to the Seoul Northern District Court for an arrest warrant review, Friday. / Yonhap

Suspect admits to planning to attack real estate broker

By Chung Hyun-chae

An ex-convict, who had grudge against a real estate broker, was arrested Friday on charges of shooting a police officer to death in northern Seoul.

A district court issued an arrest warrant for Seong Byeong-dae, 46, for killing Officer Kim Chang-ho, 54, who tried to apprehend the suspect as he was running away after attacking the broker in Beon-dong, Gangbuk-gu, Wednesday evening.

Seong, who had been convicted seven times for various criminal acts, including raping a teenager, faces charges of murder, attempted homicide, disturbing law enforcement officials in the performance of their duties and removing an electronic ankle monitor he was supposed to wear as a sex offender.

Seong was quoted as confessing that he hit the real estate broker surnamed Lee, a 68-year-old neighbor, with a hammer according to a carefully thought-out plan to kill him. Investigators said he had homemade guns to prepare for a showdown with Lee as well as police.

Asked by reporters if his act was premeditated, Seong said “yes,” while heading to the court for a review of his arrest warrant sought by prosecutors.

He spoke incoherently about how he had planned to vent his anger against the broker who allegedly arranged a house rental contract for his older sister that he lives together with, believing that “somebody would cause a gas explosion to kill him in the house.”

An investigator said such a belief indicates that the suspect might be a sociopath or paranoid.

However, Seong tried to deny that he killed the officer. He raised questions about the cause of the death of the officer.

He even told reporters that someone could have poisoned Kim in the hospital to frame the murder on him.

Investigators said Seong cut off the electronic monitor Wednesday, which alerted police, before getting into a fight with Lee. Expecting a gunfight with police, Seong was wearing a bullet-proof vest.

Officer Kim was dispatched to the scene following an emergency call from a resident. When he and other officers arrived at the scene, Seong was running away toward Mt. Opae Tunnel.

As the policemen chased him, Seong started firing at the policemen. Kim was shot and fell to the ground at around 6:30 p.m. He was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment, but was pronounced dead during surgery one hour later.

When he was apprehended, Seong was carrying six homemade guns. Police later found 17 more guns, which he made based on information available online, in his bag.

Seong was released from prison in 2012 after serving a prison term for raping the teenage girl and was ordered to wear an electronic ankle monitor until January 2017.

He had displayed his hatred toward the police by posting messages on his Facebook page.

On Oct. 11, he said, “I will come into conflict with the police in the next couple of days. I want to kill as many police officers as possible.”

Crime experts provided different opinions about the motive behind what Seong did.

Some said that he resembled a terrorist as he also made bombs that could cause massive destruction; others considered his actions to be a hate crime.

“This type of crime is usually caused by a sociopath who has hallucinations and harbors a grudge against a specific group of people. In Seong’ case, the target of hatred was the real estate broker and the police,” Lee Yoon-ho, a criminal psychology professor at Dongguk University, told The Korea Times.