‘Suspect lured victim for sex’: police
Murder suspect Lee Young-hak sought out a young victim to satiate his sex drive after his wife allegedly committed suicide, police said Friday.
Seoul Jungnang Police Station held a press briefing, where officers said they had referred the case to the prosecution with a recommendation that Lee be indicted.
According to police, Lee, 35, admitted killing a friend of his 14-year-old daughter and burying her body with the help of his daughter on a mountain in Yeongwol, Gangwon Province, Oct.1.
Police said that on Sept. 30, Lee asked his daughter to lure one of her friends from school, and gave the friend a drink laced with sleeping powder, which he told her was a mix of flu medication.
When the girl fell unconscious, Lee sexually abused her, then killed her after she woke and started screaming.
Police said Lee exhibited psychopathic tendencies, possibly reinforced by childhood bullying due to an intellectual disability.
“On a scale of 40 on a psychiatric test, Lee scored 25. Those who score over 25 are deemed to have psychopathic tendencies,” an officer said at the briefing.
Lee had hit his peers for bullying him, or they ostracized him for having an intellectual disability, a behavior indicating he sought revenge for what he considered “being wronged.”
The police officer said Lee was sexually frustrated after the death of his wife, and sought out girls his daughter’s age as he thought they were easy to control.
“His sex drive or his obsession over sex does not go as far as to be categorized as being mentally ill, but considered a bit excessive,” the officer said. “Lee is not a pedophile, and he said he had an issue regarding sexual activities.”
He said Lee’s daughter showed great sympathy toward her father, a strong emotional attachment for the family’s only breadwinner.
“The daughter strongly objected to the characterization of her father as a criminal or someone who deserved harsh criticism,” the officer said. “She considers her father as the perfect figure, which explains why she gets angry when such a belief gets challenged.”
Police are also looking into the suicide of Lee’s wife, who left a note claiming Lee sexually abused her. She also filed a complaint with police against her father-in-law for allegedly raping her over a period of eight years.
Lee came under the media spotlight as an exemplary father after TV documentaries portrayed him as a man with a warm, big heart, who cared for his daughter who had gigantiform cementoma, a rare dental condition causing tumors.
He raised money by humanizing his story of pain, but then led a life of luxury. Lee he spent 40 million won ($35,000) on an imported car, and drove two luxury vehicles.