Singer Shin Jung-hwan says he met serial killer Kang Ho-soon while in detention

Singer Shin Jung-hwan has said he met convicted serial killer Kang Ho-soon while held in a detention center.

The disclosure came Wednesday in a video posted to Shin's YouTube channel "Daktershin," in which he discussed personal trauma.

"I've actually met serial killer and death-row inmate Kang Ho-soon," Shin said in the video.

When another guest asked whether he meant "the Kang Ho-soon everyone knows," Shin replied, "I'm telling you, I met him" — and confirmed the encounter took place close enough that "spit could fly."

Asked whether the meeting happened at a detention center or a prison, Shin said it was a detention center. He then turned the question back on the other guests, asking if they knew the difference between the two. When one guest explained that inmates remain in a detention center until sentencing is carried out, Shin appeared surprised.

On the subject of trauma, Shin said "everyone these days has at least one" and dodged a direct question about his own, saying, "Honestly, I can't say I have none — but there are too many, so I'll save it for a special episode." He joked that he would put together a "trauma special."

Shin was sentenced to eight months in prison in 2010 on charges of illegal overseas gambling in the Philippines and was released on parole in December 2011 after serving six months.

He married a woman 12 years his junior in 2014, and the couple have a son. He resumed broadcast activities in 2017.