Identity of two more suspects in a murder case unveiled

The married couple Yoo Sang-won (50) and his wife Hwang Eun-hee (48) are accused of financing the kidnapping and murdering of a woman involved in a token, Puriever, investment scheme. The CEO of Uninetwork that issued the token is currently abroad.

Yoo Sang-won (50) and his wife Hwang Eun-hee (48). The identity of the couple involved in a kidnap and murder case was disclosed by the Seoul police on Wednesday. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN POLICE AGENCY]

The identity of two more suspects accused of playing a key role in the kidnapping and murdering a 48 year-old woman, Choi, last month was made public on Wednesday.

The two are Yoo Sang-won (50) and his wife Hwang Eun-hee (48).

The married couple Yoo and Hwang are among the six that have been arrested by the police since the murder occurred. In addition to the couple, the identity of three other suspects – 35-year-old Lee Kyeong-woo, 35-year-old Hwang Dae-han and 29-year-old Yeon Ji-ho - were released earlier.

The couple, who were reported to have financed the murder, which was first proposed by Lee Kyeong-woo and executed by Hwang Dae-han and Yeon Ji-ho.

The victim was kidnapped in front of an apartment complex in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam, near midnight on March 29.

Despite a witness reporting a kidnap to the police on the day and the family reporting the woman missing, her body was found near Daecheon Dam in Daejeon two days later.

The three men were arrested on March 31.

The husband was arrested at a department store in Yongin, Gyeonggi, on April 7 a week after the murder happened and his wife was arrested on Monday.

From left t right, Lee Kyeong-woo (35), Hwang Dae-han (35) and Yeon Ji-ho (29), who played a key role in the murdering of a woman. [YONHAP]

Both Yoo Sang-won and his wife Hwang Eun-hee were in a legal battle with the victim over losses made from a cryptocurrency investment, Puriever.

Puriever token is being accused as a fraud scheme in which the victim and the CEO of Uninetwork identified as Lee played a central role.

The token was traded on the Coinone exchange since November 2020. The token, which was once worth 10,000 won in early 2021, plummeted to 10 won in just 6 months. It is now worth 2 won as of Wednesday.

The victim Choi and her husband are believed to have pocketed roughly 5 billion won on another token fraud scheme that they committed in earlier 2020.

Choi and her husband reportedly attracted investors while using prominent figures including politicians in collecting investment. Not long after they shut the operation down, claiming the investment was a bust.

Puriever token is believed to have employed similar tactics.

However, after Puriever token’s value started to plummet, the people involved including Lee Kyeong-woo, who also were reported to have faced massive losses from the investment, started to blame each other, leading to hatching a scheme of kidnapping.

Lee of Uninetwork has been reported by the JoongAng Ilbo to be staying abroad. He has denied his involvement in the case.

Lee used to work as a salesman for KT.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]