Suspect in mother-in-law killing faces additional rape charge predating marriage

Kim Sung-woo, a 26-year-old social service worker already facing charges of killing his mother-in-law and kidnapping his wife, has been referred to prosecutors on an additional charge of raping his wife before their marriage.

The Suwon Gwonseon Police Station in Gyeonggi Province referred Kim to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office on Tuesday on charges including rape and bodily injury under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Violence Crimes, as well as illegal filming.

Kim is accused of having non-consensual sex with the woman, identified only as A, and injuring her at a Suwon residence in November last year, before the two were married. Kim allegedly filmed the assault as well.

At the time, Kim and A were in a relationship; they registered their marriage in February this year.

Earlier, on Oct. 11 — while a lawsuit to nullify the marriage was under way — Kim went to A's family home in Songpa-gu, Seoul, and attempted to drag her away. When A's mother, who was in her 50s, screamed and tried to stop him, Kim stabbed and killed her. Kim is also accused of forcing A into a vehicle and driving her to a mountain in Yangyang-gun, Gangwon Province, where he held her captive.

Kim was referred to the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office in connection with those charges.

Meanwhile, the Songpa Police Station in Seoul, which investigated the mother-in-law killing and wife kidnapping, is conducting a supplementary investigation at the request of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office.