Korean True Crime

Kim Ju-cheol left his boys with their mother and told them he would be back in time for the upcoming holiday. Days passed, and no one heard from him. When his family went to the police, they were told that a missing person report couldn't be filed. It wouldn't be until three weeks later that police began searching for Kim Ju-cheol in the rocky gorge of Inje Valley. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

In January 1987, businessman Yoon Tae-sik appeared on live national television claiming he had narrowly escaped being abducted to Pyongyang by his wife, who had been hiding that she was a North Korean spy. In reality, 34-year-old migrant worker Kim Ok-bun lay dead beneath the bed of their Hong Kong flat, strangled by Tae-sik during a dispute over money. For the next 15 years, the South Korean gove...

The emergency dispatcher answered a call on July 12, 2023. "If I’m a high school senior, and I’m seventeen years old, and I haven't had my birthday yet... if someone commits murder, do they get a five-year sentence? If I confess, can I get a reduction?" When the police arrived, they would discover a toxic friendship that resulted in the death of a 17 year old girl. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

In August 1997, police responded to an emergency and found a woman unconscious in a pool of blood. Thirty-five meters away, behind a temporary construction wall, her coworker Go Chun-ja lay beneath a zelkova tree undiscovered until the following morning. On the other side of Jeju Island, a near-identical crime occurred in a cafe at the same time. Find our merch here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

On January 24, 2007, a man was stopped at Ansan Station dragging a heavy suitcase that was leaving a fresh trail of blood across the floor tiles. When a station worker confronted him, he claimed the bag just held 40kg of pork. When he wasn't allowed to board the train, he abandoned the suitcase in the men's bathroom. After a janitor discovered what was inside, police launched a massive sea...

Early 2026, Ga-in survived being held captive for 12 hours. The police took her report and sent a text to the perpetrator telling him to "cease all contact with the victim". For the next 30 hours, Jang Yoon-ki would stalk her apartment, purchase two knives, and then give up to find another target. That is when he found 16-year-old Chae-won walking home from studying at the library. Find...

Find our merch here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://koreantruecrime-shop.fourthwall.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ In May 2016, a 23-year-old woman excused herself to use the restroom. When her boyfriend went to check on her 13 minutes later, he opened the door to find the crime scene that would change Korea's discussions on women's rights forever. Investigators quickly a...

In 2020, the police raided a large country home where multiple victims alleged they had been held against their will, beaten, and forced to work for upwards of 70 hours a week for free. When the police gained entry, they found that the church, Repent Heaven, had 20 years of financial records from over 130 members. But it wouldn't be until victims started to come forward that the investigators...

Full Episode on Patreon December 2001, inseparable best friends Kim Gimin and Min Kyungmi vanished after stepping out of a taxi at a Daegu bus terminal. Their disappearances wouldn't be investigated due to a police protocol that categorized them as voluntary runaways. The girls had said they were going to meet an older male friend who drove a fancy black car. Weeks later, Gimin's mother wo...

Oh Hwi-woong was executed for the 1974 murders of Jeong Si-hwa and his two young children despite a complete lack of physical evidence linking him to the crime scene. Despite having an alibi, he was found guilty. Decades later, even the presiding judge would be haunted by lifelong regret over signing the execution warrant. How did they allow an innocent man to hang? Find our merch here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠...

17-year-old Han In-taek dialed 112 to contact the police in a desperate attempt to save his life. The call lasted 20 seconds before In-taek went silent. The recording of the emergency call would begin a chain reaction of coerced confessions and a contaminated witness testimony. Whose name did they truly hear on that recording? Find our merch here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://koreantrue...

Yoon Ji-a was a rising star on TikTok with dreams of becoming an actress. In May 2025, her social media career took off after she met a VIP donator named Black Cat. He promised to manage her social media account and teach her how to become famous, but over time, his demands became increasingly controlling. When Ji-a tried to end her contract with Black Cat, he kidnapped her and ended her life just...

In October 2001, sixty migrants boarded a smuggling ship from China to South Korea in search of a better life. To avoid detection by a maritime patrol, the crew forced twenty-five of those people into a tiny, airtight gear locker. After three hours, only thirty-five would emerge from the ship alive. Find our merch here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://koreantruecrime-shop.fourthwall.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Lee Mansoo (pseudonym) was panicking when his wife wouldn't return his calls. After calling a friend to check his house and returning with no response, he called the restaurant downstairs. The owner climbed into their home through a service hatch and was met with an unmistakable metallic smell. When searching the house, the man discovered Seo Youngja (pseudonym) dead on the bedroom floor with...

Full Episode on Patreon Yeom Seon-hui was a devoted daughter who thanklessly managed her family’s successful barbecue restaurant. When the business struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, her parents turned to her maternal aunt, a practicing shaman named Kim Sookja (pseudonym), to help resurrect their finances. However, Kim Sookja soon told the family there was evil lingering around them. Seon-hui...

On March 2, 2021, Master Sergeant Lee Ye-ram got into her superiors car, unaware that the next twenty minutes would end her career and change her life forever. In the eighty-one days that followed, the ROK Air Force would gaslight her into silence until she could no longer see a way out. Justice wouldn't be pursued until 400,000 Koreans signed a government petition to demand a thorough investi...

On May 25, 2019, Kang Sungjin (pseudonym) drove to meet his ex-wife for a custody exchange but never returned. In the days that followed, surveillance footage and purchase records began to show the demented actions of his ex-wife. As investigators uncovered Koh Yoo-jeong's online searches, purchases, and travel records, they would discover a woman who killed merely for convenience. What began...

On July 9th, 2007, a 25-year-old currency exchange worker in Anyang was found murdered beneath her boss's desk. For five years, the case went cold while a group of men fled across borders to build a "murder enterprise" in the Philippines. They didn't just kidnap for ransom; staged scandals to extort Korean tourists into a silence that lasted nearly a decade. It would take a fathe...

In 2006, Park Nam-hee vanished without a trace. For two years, her government disability benefits were quietly withdrawn each month. No one reported her missing. It wasn’t until 2011 that her dismembered remains were discovered inside a handcart abandoned less than a block from her home. The suspect was a man praised as a volunteer "king", a charitable caretaker, and a reformed convict....

In November 2019, a couple traveled to Jeju Island to celebrate their 300 day anniversary. That evening, a late-night drive ended in a crash that would lead to Ms. Jo's death nine months later. What the police believed was a drunk driving accident turned into a homicide investigation. Find our merch here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://koreantruecrime-shop.fourthwall.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠...

In 2022, the bodies of eight-year-old Yuna Jo and six-year-old Minu Jo were discovered inside suitcases purchased from an abandoned storage unit in South Auckland. The children had been dead for four years, yet no missing persons report had been filed. The police quickly discovered the perpetrator: their mother. Find our merch here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://koreantruecrime-shop.fourthwall.co...

An adult home-video VHS tape would begin showing up in markets across the nation in 1997. Decades later, it would still be sought after online. The Red Scarf Video would become a glaring example of the flourishing market for CSAM. But how would people react once the underbelly was exposed? Find our merch here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://koreantruecrime-shop.fourthwall.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Cho Seong-ho found himself penniless and drowning in debt, forced to live with an older man who propositioned him in exchange for rent money. When he tried to collect what was owed, the man began to belittle him until Seong-ho snapped. Find our merch here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://koreantruecrime-shop.fourthwall.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join our discord today!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠If yo...

In February 2020, 16-month-old Jeong-in was adopted by a seemingly perfect, pious couple, only to arrive dead to an emergency department 271 days later. The system meant to protect children failed to protect Jeong-in three separate times as child abuse reports were filed and dismissed. Find our merch here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://koreantruecrime-shop.fourthwall.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠J...

In 1978, South Korea's most famous actress, Choi Eun-hee, and her ex-husband, legendary director Shin Sang-ok, were kidnapped on the orders of a movie-obsessed Kim Jong-il. For eight years, they were held captive and forced to revitalize North Korea's film industry. While keeping up the appearances of cooperating, the couple secretly recorded Kim's confession to the kidnapping and plan...