Man arrested for allegedly killing girlfriend, storing body in kimchi refrigerator
Published: 30 Sep. 2025, 09:18
![Police crime criminal investigation illustration [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/09/30/dbcdf963-96aa-4b93-ad0a-de99b9315f39.jpg)
Police crime criminal investigation illustration [YONHAP]
A man in his 40s was arrested for allegedly killing his girlfriend and concealing her body in a kimchi refrigerator for over a year.
The Gunsan Police Precinct in North Jeolla said Tuesday it had taken the suspect into emergency custody on suspicion of murder and corpse concealment.
The man is accused of strangling his girlfriend on Oct. 21 last year at a villa in Jochon-dong, Gunsan, and hiding the body in a kimchi refrigerator since.
Police found the body in the Jochon-dong villa after receiving a report from the victim’s family saying they had only been able to reach her through messaging apps for the past year and that she would not answer phone calls.
The suspect is believed to have responded to messages from the victim’s family on her behalf and continued paying monthly rent on the villa they shared in an effort to cover up the crime.
During questioning, the suspect told police that he had killed the victim after an argument over stock investments and stored the body in a kimchi refrigerator.
“We have requested a warrant for the suspect’s arrest and are investigating the full details of the case,” 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 KIM EUN-BIN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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