Arrest warrant issued for Army officer accused of killing woman and dismembering corpse

A local district court issued an arrest warrant for an Army officer who murdered a female civilian employee he worked with, mutilated her body, and dumped it in the Bukhan River.

The Army officer that killed a woman, chopped up the body and dumped it into the Bukhan River, Gangwon, exits the warrant review hearing held at Chuncheon District Court on Tuesday. [PARK JIN-HO]

A local district court issued an arrest warrant for an Army officer who murdered a female civilian employee he worked with, mutilated her body, and dumped it in the Bukhan River.

Chuncheon District Court cited concerns over evidence tampering and flight risk on Tuesday. The officer is charged with murder, mutilating and abandoning a corpse.

The officer, in his late 30s, choked the victim to death and chopped up the body into pieces on Oct. 25. He then dumped the parts into the Bukhan River, Hwacheon County, Gangwon the next day.

All of the body parts were found on Monday after a three-day search that involved 200 police officers, 21 divers, 10 boats, eight search dogs and two drones.

Police arrested the murderer in his late 30s on Sunday without a warrant inside an underpass connected to Ilwon Station in Seoul's Gangnam District, southern Seoul, a day after the first body parts were found on Saturday.

The man immediately admitted to the murder charge after his arrest.

Arriving at Chuncheon District Court at around 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday, the officer did not respond to reporters' questions, such as, “Are you not sorry to the victim? Do you have any intention of apologizing?” He kept his head down in silence and entered the courtroom for a warrant review hearing.

The officer reportedly admitted to all charges during the approximately 10-minute hearing. About 30 minutes later, he left the courtroom and, without uttering a word, boarded the transport vehicle.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]