Three arrested for allegedly beating woman to death over financial dispute
Published: 08 Sep. 2025, 17:11
Updated: 08 Sep. 2025, 17:18
![A vehicle where the body of a woman in her 50s is found in a decomposed state on Sept. 8 in a village lot in Muan County, South Jeolla. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/08/e6dc6b39-fa16-470d-97a5-0b5450742f1a.jpg)
A vehicle where the body of a woman in her 50s is found in a decomposed state on Sept. 8 in a village lot in Muan County, South Jeolla. [YONHAP]
Three people were arrested by police in South Jeolla for allegedly beating a woman to death over a financial dispute and abandoning her body.
The Muan Police Precinct said Monday it had requested arrest warrants for a woman and two men, all in their 50s, on charges of murder and disposal of a body. They are accused of fatally beating another woman, also in her 50s, around 5 a.m. on May 15 in a parking lot in Mokpo, South Jeolla.
The female suspect, who knew the victim, enlisted the help of the two men after the victim failed to repay borrowed money, according to police. The two men had not known each other prior to the incident.
The suspects allegedly began assaulting the victim around midnight on the day of the crime, beating her inside a car. Police believe the woman also took part in the assault. When another vehicle approached during the attack, the group relocated. The assault continued for five hours.
After the victim died, the suspects kept the body in the car for several days while searching for a place to dispose of it. Failing to find a suitable location, they eventually abandoned the corpse in an empty lot near a residential area. Police said the suspects went to great lengths to conceal the crime, sealing the body in plastic to mask the odor and disinfecting the car interior repeatedly.
All three had no regular employment and had been staying together in motels in recent months to avoid detection. Police believe they kept close contact to ensure none of them would reveal the crime.
![Muan Police Station in South Jeolla [MUAN POLICE STATION]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/08/9d769f0c-c2e5-4603-96f8-5436de7e3373.jpg)
Muan Police Station in South Jeolla [MUAN POLICE STATION]
After three months on the run, the female suspect reportedly demanded money from the other two, citing financial hardship. One of the men, while trying to borrow money from an acquaintance, confessed that “there’s a body in my car” out of guilt.
Police, alerted by the acquaintance, located a decomposed body inside a parked vehicle in a vacant lot near a residential area in Muan County the same day and arrested one of the suspects on the spot. The other two suspects fled the scene in a rental car but were arrested Sunday near Sangdong Bus Terminal in Mokpo.
During questioning, the suspects admitted to the assault but denied intent to kill. The two men each claimed the other had been more violent, and one said the female suspect not only asked him to retrieve the debt but also encouraged the physical assault.
Police are continuing their investigation to determine the exact motive and level of premeditation. “Although the suspects deny intent to kill, we are treating the case as murder with implied malice and are investigating accordingly,” a police official said.
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.
BY HWANG HEE-GYU [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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