Man kills mother-in-law, abducts wife amid marriage annulment suit

A 26-year-old social service worker identified only by his surname Kim tracked down his estranged wife's whereabouts while a marriage annulment suit was pending, stabbed her mother to death and abducted his wife before being arrested. Kim largely acknowledged his actions during police questioning.

The Seoul Songpa Police Station, which is leading the investigation, said Monday that "the suspect's statements largely amount to an acknowledgment of the murder and abduction charges." Police arrested Kim on Sunday on charges including the killing of a lineal ascendant.

At around 5:38 a.m. Sunday, Kim went to an apartment in Munjeong-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, where his wife had been staying separately, stabbed her mother with a bladed weapon and abducted his wife before fleeing.

The commotion prompted emergency calls reporting that "a man is trying to drag a woman away" and that "a woman has collapsed." Officers rushed to the scene. The mother, who was in her 50s, was taken to a hospital in cardiac arrest and later died.

Working with Gangwon Province police, officers located Kim's vehicle and his wife around 10:30 a.m. — about five hours after the attack — on a mountain in Yangyang-gun, Gangwon Province. The wife was found with minor injuries.

Police then searched the surrounding area and arrested Kim at around 12:35 p.m. He had no known ties to the Gangwon region, and there were no indications he had attempted to take his own life at the time of his arrest.

Kim was transferred to Songpa Police Station at around 6:27 p.m. Sunday. Stepping out of the vehicle wearing a cap pulled low and a face mask, he declined to answer reporters' questions about why he had killed his mother-in-law or abducted his wife. When the questions continued, he said quietly, "I will tell everything during the investigation."

Kim had been under a domestic violence investigation before the attack. According to the Suwon Gwonseon Police Station, the probe began in August after Kim asked police to help locate his wife and she alleged she had been a victim of domestic violence.

At the time, police confirmed the wife's whereabouts, but she asked them not to disclose her location to her husband, saying he had assaulted her.

Gwonseon police had ordered Kim to appear for questioning on Saturday, but he did not comply. Police rescheduled the session for Tuesday — and the attack occurred in the interim.

Police had also obtained a search and seizure warrant on Sept. 4 and attempted to execute it, but were unable to locate Kim. He had reportedly not reported to his social service post for several days at the time.

Temporary protective measures had also been issued against Kim, but all had expired by the time of the attack. The measures — orders barring him from the victim's residence, from approaching within 100 meters of it, and from contacting her through electronic communications — had been in place under provisions one through three of the relevant domestic violence law.

Those measures expired on Sept. 30. Police reapplied for a new restraining order on Tuesday, but the attack took place before the court issued a ruling.

Police plan to conduct further questioning into Kim's motive and the domestic violence case, and intend to seek an arrest warrant.

Kim had initially been reported to be in divorce proceedings, but it has since been confirmed that a marriage annulment suit was underway.