Why did nude killer Jung Jae-hwan brutally murder his friend?
On the August 22 broadcast of the SBS investigative program "Unanswered Questions," the show traced the truth behind the Gyeongsan friend murder case under the subtitle "The Nude Killer and the Live Broadcast of Death - Why Did Jung Jae-hwan Kill His Friend?"
In the early morning of July 4, a brutal murder took place at an apartment in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, where a man killed his friend of the same age.
What shocked the public further was that the perpetrator killed the victim through overkill and then roamed the streets for about an hour in a nude state with his body covered in blood. During this process, he was captured stopping by a convenience store to take a banana-flavored milk without paying, and casually walking right past a police car dispatched to arrest him.
The perpetrator, in his 20s named Jung Jae-hwan, stabbed the victim some 50 times all over his body, including the face, neck, abdomen, limbs, and even left bite marks deep enough to tear off flesh. The victim, who was brutally murdered by him, was Heo Min-seok, a man in his 20s who had been his friend for 10 years.
Claiming he was drunk and cannot remember the situation or motive at the time of the crime, Jung Jae-hwan has continued to feign ignorance to this day.
However, before his death, Heo had made a phone call to friends in Daegu asking for help, and a 21-minute recording of the call made while they were heading to Jung's home in Gyeongsan captured the situation at the time of the incident.
Heo could be heard repeatedly expressing apology while complaining of pain. He also trembled with anxiety, saying, "Jae-hwan, it feels like my intestines are going to pop out. My intestines are popping out." Yet Jung Jae-hwan did not stop his attacks, letting out an eerie laugh.
Meanwhile, another friend, surnamed Ko, who was present at the scene and was assaulted by Jung, unfortunately could not remember anything about the situation due to intoxication. Jung had escalated the level of violence against Heo only after Ko moved to another room to sleep.
Additionally, two large plastic bags of unknown purpose were found at the scene, leading friends to speculate that they might have been intended for corpse mutilation or abandonment.
An expert analyzed the recording containing the situation at the time of the crime, noting that the victimization likely began even before the recording started. The expert also expressed regret that groans believed to be from Heo could still be heard even after the moment Jung Jae-hwan left the house was recorded.
Adding to the shock, the expert analyzed that the voice of Jung saying, "Min-seok, say kimchi," indicated that Jung likely took a proof shot of the victim after the crime.
Jung Jae-hwan had shown violent tendencies after drinking in the past as well. Without any provocation, he had assaulted acquaintances, abused his own pets, and at times engaged in self-harm, showing marked emotional swings between laughing and crying.
However, based on an analysis of Jung's actions captured on CCTV, an expert concluded that he was neither heavily intoxicated nor physically constrained at the time of the crime.
This was further supported by the fact that right before his arrest, Jung asked a friend to send tens of millions of won worth of luxury watches and 20 million won in cash to his mother.
Having never held a steady job, Jung suddenly seemed to have become fabulously wealthy after briefly working and traveling to places such as Seoul and Southeast Asia, according to his acquaintances.
He moved into a newly built three-room apartment equipped with a safe and a money-counting machine. Displaying his wealth by purchasing high-end luxury goods and repeatedly replacing supercar models, acquaintances suspected he worked as a cash courier for illegal gambling sites. Furthermore, it was revealed that even his mother cared more about luxury watches and Jung's well-being than the concerns of the victim and the bereaved family, causing widespread shock.
Exempted from mandatory military service due to a judgment of destructive impulse control disorder and conduct disorder, Jung was analyzed by an expert who stated, "Even if someone is a psychopath, they usually have a fear of social punishment and are not the type to be completely unfazed. It looks like he enjoyed watching the victim suffer. Extreme anger and excitement seem to have been felt by the perpetrator as a form of pleasure."
Although Jung had shown violence since his adolescence, an expert speculated that there must have been a clear trigger that exploded his violent tendencies.
After reaching adulthood, Jung repeatedly assaulted acquaintances, and it was always the victim, Heo, who cleaned up the mess and stopped him. Explaining this, an expert noted, "The victim probably felt to him like someone suppressing his omnipotence and desire for control. His personality could not tolerate people trying to stop his violence or approaching him with good intentions, viewing them as obstacles to his behavior."
The expert also drew attention by analyzing that failing to receive proper education at the appropriate time and being abandoned by his parents likely caused his inability to control impulses to become chronic.
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.