Suspect Locked Freezer from Outside After Failed Deal, Staggering Debt Uncovered

[Anchor]

It has been revealed that the suspect in the Paju frozen warehouse murder case locked the warehouse from the outside. Police have also confirmed that the suspect is burdened with more than 1 billion won in debt.

Reporter Je Hui-won has the details.

[Reporter]

Police have obtained circumstantial evidence showing that on the morning of the 3rd, the suspect in his 30s, surnamed Shin, entered a frozen warehouse with a woman in her 60s, exited alone, and locked the door from the outside with a padlock.

Police believe that Shin, who owed more than 1 billion won, attempted to falsely pass off tens of billions of won worth of counterfeit department store gift cards stored in the warehouse as genuine for a cash transaction, which ultimately failed.

Police are currently verifying the credibility of Shin's statements while investigating whether the murder was premeditated from the beginning.

This is because Shin's statements regarding the installation of the frozen warehouse shifted repeatedly during the initial stages of the investigation. He first stated, "I intended to confine her if the counterfeiting was discovered," but later changed his account to, "I intended to release the victim once the deposit for the gift cards was confirmed," and "I installed it thinking she might just look around briefly and leave because it was cold."

Additionally, police confirmed that the victim's cell phone was turned on and off repeatedly in nearby Goyang and other areas after the crime, which investigators suspect was an attempt by Shin to create confusion in the investigation.

The man who drove the victim to Paju and arranged the meeting with Shin reportedly stated during police questioning that he served the role of brokering and verifying the gift card transaction.

Police, who previously booked the man on charges related to gift card counterfeiting, are also investigating whether he was involved in the murder.

Furthermore, police have identified a third man who was with the two at the time of Shin's arrest and are investigating whether he was an accomplice.

Police plan to continue their investigation into the exact motive of the crime and the scale of accomplices until Shin is handed over to the prosecutors on the 14th.

(Video reporting: Kim Nam-sung | Video editing: Kim Ho-jin | Design: Seo Seung-hyun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.