Motel murder suspect faces additional charges after police identify three more victims
Published: 19 Mar. 2026, 12:52
![Mug shots of Kim So-yeong, a woman accused of giving drug-laced drinks to men at motels in Gangbuk District, northern Seoul, provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on March 9 [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/03/19/8e037b56-d075-4ba2-8163-40832e344a0d.jpg)
Mug shots of Kim So-yeong, a woman accused of giving drug-laced drinks to men at motels in Gangbuk District, northern Seoul, provided by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on March 9 [YONHAP]
Kim So-yeong, who is accused of killing two men and leaving another unconscious by lacing drinks with drugs, now faces additional charges after police concluded that she had drugged three other men.
Police referred Kim to the prosecution on charges including aggravated injury and violations of the Narcotics Control Act after an additional investigation, the Seoul Gangbuk police precinct said on Thursday.
The additional investigation comes after Kim was suspected of giving benzodiazepine-laced drinks to three men in and around Gangbuk District, northern Seoul, between mid-December 2025 and Feb. 9 this year. She was handed over to prosecutors on Feb. 19 on charges including murder and violating the Narcotics Control Act.
Investigators examined three additional men who claimed they had suffered harm from Kim. Forensic authorities detected substances including benzodiazepine — a sedative drug that can induce unconsciousness — in hair samples from two of them, the same type of drug used in the earlier crimes.
Authorities did not detect the substance in the third man, but police believe enough time had passed for the drug to fully leave his system.
Police determined that all three suffered physical harm and applied charges including aggravated injury.
Kim has denied the additional allegations. Prosecutors may seek to indict her on additional charges if the allegations are confirmed.
The first trial hearing is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on April 9 at the Seoul Northern District Court in Dobong District, northern Seoul.
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 HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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