Jeju Middle School Student Murder In 2021 In South Korea, Who Killed The Son Of An Insider

 In Jeju City, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, a man in his 40s named Baek Gwang-seok, who had recently broken up with his girlfriend due to relationship issues, committed a revengeful act by killing the girlfriend's teenage son. The incident occurred when Baek Gwang-seok, the perpetrator, along with his acquaintance, a 46-year-old man named Kim Si-nam, observed that Kim Gyeong-hyeon's mother had left for work on the morning of July 18, 2021. Realizing that Kim Gyeong-hyeon was home alone, they waited for six hours. 

Finally, at around 3:16 PM, they broke into a house in Jocheon-eup, Jeju City, and assaulted and murdered Kim Gyeong-hyeon, a 15-year-old middle school student. After the crime, they disposed of the tools used in the offense at a nearby clean house (waste disposal facility) and fled the scene. 

It was revealed that Kim Gyeong-hyeon had been collecting evidence to reassure his mother whenever she experienced domestic violence from Baek Gwang-seok. Baek Gwang-seok, who had been in a de facto marriage with Kim Gyeong-hyeon's mother, began threatening her multiple times after their relationship deteriorated, stating that he would take away something precious from her. Eventually, fueled by resentment, he murdered the victim. 

After discovering her deceased son at 10:51 PM, Kim Gyeong-hyeon's mother reported the incident to the police. Upon examining the victim's body, the police discovered evidence of homicide and began identifying the suspects. On the same day of the incident, it was revealed that two adult males had visited the victim's house. 

Kim was arrested at 12:40 AM on July 19 at his residence, while Baek was arrested at 7:26 PM on the same day at a lodging facility in Jeju City. On July 21, both suspects were detained. On July 20, Baek caused a commotion by hitting his head against a wall in the juvenile detention center, resulting in self-inflicted injuries. 

The police, who discovered the incident, reported it to emergency services (119), and Baek was transferred to a hospital for treatment before being returned to the detention center. On July 27, Jeju Dongbu Police Station forwarded the two suspects to the prosecutor's office. During the transfer from the police station, in accordance with the decision to disclose their identities, the suspects were requested to remove their masks, but both refused.

3.1. Baek Gwang-seok:Born in 1973, Baek Gwang-seok is the main perpetrator of the incident. It was revealed that prior to this incident, he had committed revenge crimes against several women simply because they had informed him of their desire to end their relationships. 

In 2003, Baek Gwang-seok set fire to the house of a woman who had broken up with him, and seven years later in 2010, he threatened and assaulted her, resulting in a sentence of two years in prison with three years of probation. After his release, while still on probation, he engaged in attempted murder and extortion against another woman, leading to another six-month prison sentence.

Starting from November 2018, Baek Gwang-seok began living with Kim Gyeong-hyeon and his mother, along with his own biological son, in the house where Kim Gyeong-hyeon resided. At that time, Kim Gyeong-hyeon referred to Baek Gwang-seok as "dad" and had a good relationship with Baek Gwang-seok's son. 

However, as time went on, Baek Gwang-seok became excessively possessive of Kim Gyeong-hyeon's mother, leading to incidents of domestic violence such as not maintaining regular contact or coming home late. 

Eventually, in May 2021, they separated, but Baek Gwang-seok did not stop his abusive behavior. He would break into Kim Gyeong-hyeon's house in the middle of the night, assaulting his sleeping mother by choking her or cutting the gas pipe of the LPG cylinder installed in Kim Gyeong-hyeon's house to release gas, as well as making death threats against his mother. 

As a result, on July 4, he received a court order from the Jeju District Court prohibiting him from approaching within 100 meters of Kim Gyeong-hyeon's house. After the crime, Baek Gwang-seok stayed in the house for about 2 hours and 30 minutes, during which he sprinkled cooking oil inside, stating that he intended to make an extreme choice. The police charged him with murder, home invasion, and theft. He is scheduled to be released in July 2051 (at the age of 78, with the sentence expiring at the age of 88).

3.2. Kim Si-nam:Born in 1975, Kim Si-nam is an accomplice in the murder case, who assisted Baek Gwang-seok at his request. However, Kim Si-nam denied direct involvement in the murder. 

He strongly refused to have his face revealed during the press conference. According to the police, Kim Si-nam withdrew 5 million won from Baek Gwang-seok's debit card immediately after the crime and made credit card payments of approximately 1 million won at his own entertainment establishment. He also received a total of approximately 11 million won as a reward for assisting in the crime, which included reducing debts owed to Baek Gwang-seok, cash transfers, and card payments. 

It was revealed that during the economic difficulties caused by COVID-19, Kim Si-nam received money multiple times from Baek Gwang-seok, totaling 4 million won and 900,000 won, while also receiving requests for assistance. From July 16 to July 17, together with Baek Gwang-seok, they discussed the specific methods of the crime while roaming around Kim Gyeong-hyeon's house. Kim Si-nam has a criminal record of about 10 cases, including sexual offenses. The police charged him with murder. He is scheduled to be released in July 2048 (at the age of 73, with the sentence expiring at the age of 83).