Man in 40s arrested for killing partner, hiding body in kimchi refrigerator for a year

A man accused of killing his girlfriend and hiding her body in a kimchi refrigerator enters the Gunsan branch of the Jeonju District Court for a warrant hearing, Tuesday. Yonhap

A man in his 40s has been arrested on charges of killing his common-law partner and concealing her body in a kimchi refrigerator for about a year.

Police said the man purchased the refrigerator after the crime to store the body.

Judge Kim Eun-ji of the Gunsan branch of the Jeonju District Court issued an arrest warrant for the suspect on Tuesday on charges of murder and abandonment of a corpse, citing flight risk and the possibility of evidence destruction.

Speaking briefly to reporters before his court appearance, he said only, “I’m sorry.”

According to police, the man strangled his partner, a woman in her 40s, on Oct. 20 last year at an apartment in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province. He then placed her body in a newly purchased kimchi refrigerator.

The case came to light after police received a report on Monday from the sister of another woman, who was also living with the suspect, claiming that he had confessed to killing someone.

Officers arrested the man about 20 minutes later at his residence and found the woman's body inside the refrigerator. The body was wrapped in a bag and frozen.

Investigators found that the man had been living with the second woman in Gunsan for 10 years while simultaneously maintaining a relationship with his common-law partner for about three years at a separate apartment he rented in his name.

To conceal the crime, he continued paying the rent on the victim's residence and used her phone to send messages to her family, pretending she was still alive. When relatives asked why she could not speak on the phone, he responded with excuses such as being too busy.

Her younger sibling eventually filed a missing persons report after a year of no contact. When police requested a face-to-face confirmation, the man allegedly pressured the second woman into answering a call while posing as the victim, even offering her money to cooperate.

Suspicious of his behavior, she later confronted the man, who admitted to the crime. She then informed her sister, who contacted police.

The suspect told investigators he killed the victim during a fight over investment losses. He claimed he had borrowed 50 million won ($36,500) from her for investments, losing 40 million won in the process. Police said he continued to use her credit card and even took out loans in her name after the murder.

Authorities are now seeking warrants to trace the suspect's financial and stock accounts and have requested an autopsy from the National Forensic Service to determine the exact cause of death.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.