Suspect in 'Serial disappearance of Gangjin elementary school students' arrested again for possession of weapon while on probation

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Jeong Ji-soo = A man in his 40s, who was identified as a prime suspect in the 'Gangjin serial disappearance of elementary school students', was arrested again for violating orders prohibiting possession of weapons while on probation.

According to the legal community on the 19th, Mr. A was arrested on the 16th on charges of violating the law on attaching electronic devices (electronic anklets) and was held in the Seoul Eastern Detention Center.

According to the Electronic Device Attachment Act, when the court issues an attachment order, it can also order compliance such as prohibiting possession of weapons.

Mr. A was identified as a suspect in the disappearance of two elementary school students in Gangjin, Jeollanam-do in 2000 and 2001. However, due to lack of direct evidence, he was not punished for this incident.

Previously, Mr. A was sentenced to 15 years in prison for murdering his wife's younger brother with a weapon in 2002.

Mr. A, who was released after serving 15 years in prison, was sentenced to prison again on charges of sexually assaulting an intellectually disabled woman in 2018 and was released last month after serving the full eight years.

Mr. A was ordered not to possess a weapon, but the probation office recently received information that Mr. A had a weapon.

The probation office, which searched Mr. A's temporary residence in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, where he was staying after being released from prison, determined that the charges were acceptable and applied for an arrest warrant to the Seoul Northern District Public Prosecution Office.