The police decided not to disclose the identity of a man in his 50s who murdered five members of his family, including his parents and children.
According to police and other sources on the 18th, the Southern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency decided not to disclose the identity of suspect A, who was arrested on charges of murder and filicide, and also decided not to hold a public disclosure review committee.
The police considered the wishes of other relatives of the five family members killed, including A's parents in their 80s, his wife in her 50s, and his daughters in their 10s and 20s. They also concluded that disclosing A's identity could cause secondary harm to the other families of the deceased victims.
According to the law on the disclosure of personal information for specific major crime suspects, which has been in effect since January of last year, authorities can compel the taking of a 'mugshot' of major crime suspects. The disclosure conditions include: ▲ the method of the crime being brutal with significant harm caused; ▲ sufficient evidence to believe that the suspect committed the crime; ▲ necessity for public interest, such as ensuring the right of the people to know, preventing the suspect from reoffending, and preventing crime.
A is suspected of drugging his family with sleeping pills and then strangling them to death on the afternoon of the 14th at their apartment in Yongin. He reportedly told the police that he committed the crime because he was in debt after being sued for fraud by contractors during an apartment sale project and could not burden his family with the debt.