Suspect in Chinese student murder led to body disposal sites across South Korea

Police investigating the murder of a Chinese international student in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, are escorting the suspect to locations across the country in search of the victim's dismembered remains.

According to police Saturday, the Gyeongsan Police Station in North Gyeongsang Province began taking the suspect — a Chinese lecturer identified by his surname Jeong, 31 — to potential body disposal sites starting Friday morning. Jeong, a university lecturer, was detained on charges of murdering a 25-year-old Chinese international student, identified only as A, who attended the same school.

Police believe Jeong killed and dismembered A at his residence in Hayang, Gyeongsan, then scattered the remains at multiple locations across the country, including in North Gyeongsang and Gyeonggi provinces. Investigators also found evidence that he attempted to throw off the investigation, including by disguising himself in women's clothing while moving the remains.

Police have secured footage from closed-circuit television cameras and vehicle dashboard cameras recorded after the crime, and are cross-referencing the suspect's mobile phone usage history to reconstruct his movements.

Human remains have so far been found at Jeong's home, in Gyeongju in North Gyeongsang Province, and in Gunpo in Gyeonggi Province. The National Forensic Service confirmed that remains recovered from the suspect's home belonged to the victim.

A's family arrived in South Korea on Friday and cooperated with police questioning.

As news of the brutal crime — committed by a Chinese national against a fellow citizen — spread, calls grew in China for Jeong's extradition and severe punishment. On social media, a growing number of voices cited South Korea's status as a country that has in effect abolished the death penalty, demanding that the suspect be brought back to China to face execution.