A former police officer has been arrested in Jeju for allegedly murdering his wife in her 50s.
The Seogwipo Police Station in Jeju announced that they apprehended the suspect, identified as A, a former police officer and the victim's husband, at a lodging establishment in Gyeonggi Province at around 12:30 a.m. today (the 25th) on charges of murdering a woman in her 50s.
The woman was found dead with fatal injuries at her home in Seogwipo, Jeju, at around 7:00 p.m. yesterday, and her husband, A, is accused of murdering her with a weapon.
Immediately after discovering the victim, the police initiated an investigation by tracking A's whereabouts and reviewing nearby CCTV footage.
According to police investigations, A, who currently resides in Seoul, had been reported missing to the Jungnang Police Station in Seoul by another family member on the 22nd.
The reporter told police that A had disappeared after leaving notes expressing suicidal intentions and asked law enforcement to locate him.
The police requested cooperation from police stations in the northern Gyeonggi region where A frequently traveled, and on the 24th, they also requested search cooperation from the police station in Seogwipo, where his wife—with whom he was undergoing divorce proceedings—lived.
A police official stated, "Immediately after the search cooperation request came in at around 8:00 a.m. on the 24th, officers from the local box visited the woman's home, rang the doorbell, and sounded police vehicle sirens, but there was no response from inside." The official added, "When officers visited the house again in the afternoon, they noticed a broken window, searched the interior, and discovered the woman dead."
Investigations revealed that A worked as a police officer in Jeju for about six years before retiring, and last year he moved his residence to Seoul, living separately from his wife.
A is reportedly not denying the crime, and police plan to escort A back to Jeju to investigate the exact motive, believing the crime was committed out of grievances related to their ongoing divorce proceedings.
Critics point out that the tragedy might have been prevented had the police taken prompt and proactive measures—such as early search cooperation—by considering the possibility that the wife undergoing divorce proceedings could become a target of a crime.
Reported by Kim Taewon | Video by Hong Jin-young | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.