Between 1986 and 1991, ten women and girls were raped and murdered in and around Hwaseong, South Korea, in a case that went unsolved for thirty years until DNA evidence identified Lee Choon-jae, already imprisoned for a separate 1994 murder, who confessed in 2019.
Joam-ri, Hwaseong district — rural fields — Credit: Muller504, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Overview
Between September 15, 1986, and April 3, 1991, a series of rapes and murders occurred in and around Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Ten murders were originally attributed to this string of crimes, which became the largest criminal investigation in South Korean history, involving more than 2 million man-days of police work and over 21,000 investigated suspects. Victims were found bound, gagged, raped, and in most cases strangled to death with their own clothing, such as pantyhose or socks.
The Crimes
The first known victim, Lee Wan-im, 71, disappeared on September 13, 1986, while returning home from visiting her daughter; her body was found in a pasture six days later. Subsequent victims included Park Hyun-sook, 25, found in a canal in October 1986, and Kwon Jung-bon, 25, found on an embankment months after her December 1986 disappearance. The final murder attributed to the case took place around 9 p.m. on April 3, 1991, when Kwon Soon-sang, 69, was found raped and strangled with pantyhose on a hill.
Investigation and a Wrongful Conviction
Investigators created a suspect sketch based on descriptions from a bus driver and conductor who saw a man shortly after the seventh murder in 1988, alongside descriptions from surviving assault victims. Police also for years believed the perpetrator had blood type B, which was later found to be inaccurate. In 1989, Yoon Sung-yeo was arrested and convicted for the murder of the eighth victim, 14-year-old Park Sang-hee, a case determined at the time to be a "copycat crime." Yoon was sentenced to life imprisonment and served over nineteen years before being paroled in 2009.
Identification of Lee Choon-jae
The case remained unsolved for thirty years. Lee Choon-jae had separately been convicted and sentenced to death, later reduced to life imprisonment with parole eligibility after twenty years, for drugging, raping, and killing his eighteen-year-old sister-in-law in January 1994. In September 2019, police announced that DNA from a victim's underwear had been matched to Lee, and further testing linked him to additional unsolved murders. On October 2, 2019, police announced Lee had confessed to fourteen murders, including all ten original serial-murder victims — among them the case for which Yoon had been convicted — plus four previously unattributed killings, along with more than thirty rapes and attempted rapes. Because the statute of limitations for the murders had expired and was not applied retroactively, Lee could not be prosecuted for these additional killings.
Yoon Sung-yeo's Exoneration
Following Lee's confession, Yoon Sung-yeo filed for a retrial. Prosecutors confirmed Yoon had endured abusive treatment by police at the time of his arrest and that a forensic report used to convict him had been fraudulently written. Eight of the original investigators were charged with abuse of power and illegal detention. At a November 2, 2020 retrial hearing, Lee testified as a witness, confessing to the crime and describing the scene. On December 17, 2020, Yoon was formally acquitted of the murder after the court found him innocent and found Lee responsible, despite the expired statute of limitations barring prosecution.
Kwon Jung-bon, Park Hyun-sook, Kwon Soon-sang, Lee Wan-im, Park Sang-hee
Date
1980s
Location
Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea
Case status
solved
Case timeline
1986-09-13
Lee Wan-im, 71, disappears; her body is found days later, marking the first murder in the Hwaseong series.
1986-10-20
Park Hyun-sook, 25, disappears after getting off a bus; her body is found in a canal three days later.
1986-12-12
Kwon Jung-bon, 25, disappears in front of her house; her body is found months later on an embankment.
1988-09-07
Seventh murder occurs; a bus driver and conductor witness a man boarding their bus shortly afterward, leading to a suspect sketch.
1989-07-27
Yoon Sung-yeo is arrested for the murder of 14-year-old Park Sang-hee, the eighth victim, in a case later determined to be a copycat crime.
1991-04-03
Kwon Soon-sang, 69, is murdered, the last killing attributed to the original Hwaseong serial murders.
1994-01-13
Lee Choon-jae drugs, rapes, and kills his eighteen-year-old sister-in-law.
1994-01-18
Lee Choon-jae is arrested in connection with his sister-in-law's murder.
1994-05
Lee is convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of his sister-in-law.
1995
The Supreme Court of Korea reduces Lee's death sentence to life imprisonment with parole eligibility after twenty years.
2006-04-02
The statute of limitations for the most recent Hwaseong murders is set to expire, drawing renewed media attention.
2009
Yoon Sung-yeo is released on parole after serving over nineteen years in prison.
2019-09-18
Police announce Lee Choon-jae has been identified as a suspect via DNA matching from a victim's underwear.
2019-10-02
Police announce Lee has confessed to fourteen murders, including all ten original serial murders and four previously unattributed killings.
2019-11-13
Yoon Sung-yeo files for a retrial following Lee's confession.
2019-11-15
Police reach a provisional conclusion that Lee was responsible for all ten serial murders.
2020-01
A court accepts Yoon Sung-yeo's plea for a retrial.
2020-07-02
Police confirm Lee committed fourteen murders and nine rapes, formally closing the case.
2020-11-02
Lee testifies as a witness in Yoon's retrial, confessing to the eighth murder and describing the crime scene.
2020-12-17
Yoon Sung-yeo is acquitted of murder after the retrial court finds him innocent and finds Lee responsible.
Best coverage
Titles and descriptions are the creators’ own and may not reflect current legal status; see the dossier above for sourced case facts.
VIDEO
That Chapter / 26 min
South Korea’s Worst Serial Killer | Memories of Murder
People
Kwon Jung-bon
VICTIM
25-year-old victim who disappeared in December 1986 and was found murdered on an embankment.
Park Hyun-sook
VICTIM
25-year-old victim who disappeared in October 1986 and was found murdered in a canal.
Yoon Sung-yeo
EXONERATED
Originally convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1989 for the murder of Park Sang-hee; served over nineteen years, paroled in 2009, and formally acquitted on December 17, 2020 after Lee Choon-jae confessed to the crime.
Kwon Soon-sang
VICTIM
69-year-old victim found raped and strangled with pantyhose on April 3, 1991, the last murder attributed to the case.
Lee Choon-jae
CONVICTED
Convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1994 rape and murder of his sister-in-law; confessed in 2019 to fourteen murders including all ten original Hwaseong serial murders, but could not be prosecuted for those due to expiration of the statute of limitations.
Lee Wan-im
VICTIM
71-year-old victim who disappeared on September 13, 1986, and was found murdered in a pasture; first known victim in the Hwaseong series.
Park Sang-hee
VICTIM
14-year-old eighth victim of the Hwaseong murders; her case led to the wrongful conviction of Yoon Sung-yeo.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Archival records
archival location
Joam-ri, Hwaseong district — rural fields
Credit: Muller504, via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
Between 1986 and 1991, ten women and girls were raped and murdered in and around Hwaseong, South Korea, in a case that went unsolved for thirty years until DNA evidence identified Lee Choon-jae, already imprisoned for a separate 1994 murder, who confessed in 2019.
Where did the murders happen?
Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.
Who was convicted?
Lee Choon-jae (Convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the 1994 rape and murder of his sister-in-law; confessed in 2019 to fourteen murders including all ten original Hwaseong serial murders, but could not be prosecuted for those due to expiration of the statute of limitations.).
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