Police offer 100 million won reward in unsolved Tongyeong murder
The woman was found stabbed with a weapon at around 6:34 a.m. on June 10, and police have yet to identify the man caught on CCTV breaking into her home.
Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency in Changwon, South Gyeongsang
GYEONGNAM PROVINCIAL POLICE AGENCY
Police in South Gyeongsang are offering up to 100 million won ($66,400) in exchange for information that leads to an arrest in the unsolved killing of a woman in Tongyeong more than a month after a masked intruder broke into her home.
The South Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency announced the award on Monday, marking the first time that the police have publicly offered a financial reward for tips in this case.
Though police circulated wanted posters within days of the murder, which occurred on June 10, investigators have still not identified the man seen breaking into the victim’s home.
Under a National Police Agency rule, a review committee can award up to 100 million won to anyone who provides information that identifies the suspect, submits evidence of the crime or assists an investigation that leads to an arrest. However, the case must involve the killing of two or fewer people and be classified by police as causing serious harm or drawing widespread public concern.
The killing took place at a house in Dosan-myeon, a township in Tongyeong, on June 10. Family members who had been asleep in another room found the victim murdered, stabbed with a weapon, at around 6:34 a.m. and called police.
CCTV footage from the house shows a man wearing a cap, face mask and gloves breaking in at about 2 a.m. He was carrying a small handbag and other items when he left, police said.
Investigators from the Tongyeong Police Precinct and the provincial agency’s major crime unit were assigned to the case. They canvassed the village and checked nearby CCTVs but found no trace of the suspect. On June 19, nine days after the killing, police set up a task force of about 30 officers. They have obtained warrants and are pursuing several leads but have yet to establish the suspect’s identity.
The lack of an arrest has deepened unease in the area. An alleged photo of the man’s face spread quickly on Instagram and other social media. However, the image turned out to be fabricated, generated with AI from a still from CCTV footage that police had released earlier.
“We formed a task force and are keeping every possibility open as we respond with all our resources,” a police official said.
BY AN DAE-HUN [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
