Police transfer 26-year-old Kim Seong-woo to public prosecution office for 'Songpa mother-in-law murder and wife kidnapping'

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Cho Hyun-young = Kim Seong-woo, a 26-year-old social worker suspected of murdering his mother-in-law and kidnapping his wife in Songpa-gu, Seoul, was handed over to the Public Prosecution Office.

On the 20th, Songpa Police Station announced that on the morning of the same day, Kim Seong-woo was transferred to the Seoul Eastern District Public Prosecution Office on charges of violating the Act on Aggravated Specific Crimes, such as revenge murder and retaliatory confinement, and violating the Special Assault and Stalking Punishment Act.

Kim Seong-woo is accused of going to his in-laws in Songpa-gu at around 5:35 a.m. on the 11th and attempting to forcibly drag his wife away, but stabbed and killed his 50-year-old mother-in-law, who screamed and stopped him.

Afterwards, he threatened his wife, Mr. A, in her 20s, with a weapon, put her in a car, drove to a hill in Yangyang-gun, Gangwon-do, and imprisoned her.

The mother-in-law, who was found at the scene, was taken to the hospital in cardiac arrest but died.

Wife A suffered abrasions but was safely rescued.

Kim Seong-woo and his wife A registered their marriage last February and separated in August.

Mr. A filed an application for divorce mediation with the court at the end of August, but withdrew it and was in the process of filing a lawsuit to invalidate the marriage.

The police have been investigating the possibility of a planned crime based on the fact that Kim Seong-woo waited near the crime scene for about four hours while carrying a weapon.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency held a Personal Information Disclosure Deliberation Committee the afternoon before and released Kim Seong-woo's name, age, and face photo (mugshot).

The review committee determined that the seriousness of the damage and the cruelty of the means of the crime were acknowledged, and that there was sufficient evidence to prove the crime. Public interests such as prevention of recidivism and crime were also taken into consideration.