Songpa murder suspect Kim Sung-woo tied, raped wife before forcing her to register marriage, she says

The wife of Kim Sung-woo, 26, the suspect in the murder of a mother-in-law in Songpa-gu, Seoul, has said she suffered repeated assaults before the couple married and that Kim forced her to register their marriage. Kim is accused of going to his wife's family home in Songpa-gu at around 5:38 a.m. on Oct. 11, stabbing her mother with a bladed weapon and abducting his wife by forcing her into a vehicle.

According to JTBC's "Sageon Banjang," Kim and his wife, identified only as A, first met in April last year and began dating. The abuse started after Kim moved into A's studio apartment.

A told Kim she wanted to break up in November last year, but the violence only intensified after that.

Kim hid in the stairwell of A's apartment building, forced his way inside when he heard the door lock click, threatened her with a bladed weapon, bound her hands and feet with tape, choked her and coerced her into unwanted sexual intercourse.

Kim strangled A while saying, "We broke up — why are you living happily?" and "Let's both die." A said she lost consciousness at one point and ultimately filled out the marriage registration form in tears, acting under his coercion out of fear of being beaten.

A left the home in August and reported Kim to police for domestic violence, then filed a lawsuit to have the marriage annulled. She said she had been unable to seek help from those around her because Kim knew the contact information and addresses of her family and acquaintances.

Police issued A a smartwatch, and a court issued a restraining order against Kim.

A belatedly informed her mother of the situation and fled to her family home, but Kim tracked down the address through a private investigation agency, ultimately exposing her to the attack.

On Oct. 11, Kim killed A's mother, a woman in her 50s, with a bladed weapon at the family home in Songpa-gu and drove A to Yangyang-gun in Gangwon Province, where he held her captive. He had initially headed toward Sokcho but changed course to Yangyang after being pursued by highway patrol officers. During the chase he rammed a patrol car and a civilian vehicle, injuring two police officers.

Kim was arrested on the day of the crime and detained on Oct. 13 on charges of aggravated homicide of a lineal ascendant and unlawful confinement.

During the police investigation, Kim acknowledged killing his mother-in-law and abducting his wife but claimed he had not planned the attack in advance and had no intention of retaliation.

Police applied charges of retaliatory murder and retaliatory confinement, citing CCTV footage showing Kim repeatedly loitering near the family home and evidence related to how he obtained the weapon. Police released his name, age and photo Monday and transferred him in custody to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office Tuesday.