Police have requested an arrest warrant for an active-duty public official who tracked down and murdered his wife, who had reported him for domestic violence multiple times and fled to a separate residence.

The Gyeonggi Gwangju Police Station announced that it has requested an arrest warrant for a man in his 30s, designated as A, on charges of murder and violation of the Child Welfare Act (child abuse).

A, an active-duty public official, is suspected of stabbing and killing his wife in her 30s, designated as B, with a weapon at around 7:17 a.m. yesterday (September 1) on the stairs of a multi-family housing building in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, as she was leaving for work.

Taking into account that young children were present at the scene of the crime, police also applied additional charges of emotional child abuse against A.

According to police investigations, the incident was revealed to be a premeditated crime by A, who harbored resentment over divorce proceedings.

During police questioning, he confessed, "I seriously began plotting the crime around August 11, after receiving the divorce lawsuit filed by my wife, with whom I was separated."

He reportedly harbored resentment, believing that because he had previously committed domestic violence and been reported multiple times, he would face unfavorable outcomes in overall matters such as alimony, property division, custody, and child support.

Having spent about three weeks plotting the crime, he armed himself with a weapon on the day of the incident and went to his wife's current residence listed in the divorce papers.

At the time, the wife had fled to her family's residence in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, to escape her husband's violence.

Investigations showed that A arrived at the scene riding a motorcycle and wearing a pulled-down hat, waited on the stairs of the multi-family housing building for about 15 minutes, and immediately committed the crime when his wife came out.

Immediately after the crime, A rode his motorcycle and fled toward the vicinity of his residence in Jangan-gu, Suwon.

After wandering near his residence for a short while, he entered an accommodation facility and attempted to take his own life, before being emergency-arrested by police about 4 hours and 20 minutes later.

However, because A had discarded his mobile phone at the time of his apprehension, search records and other details during the planning process have not been confirmed as of yet.

A police official stated, "We plan to continue investigating the suspect to confirm the overall details of the case, including circumstances indicating that the crime was premeditated or whether there were additional motives."

Meanwhile, it was revealed that the deceased, B, had reported and requested counseling from the police a total of four times regarding domestic violence, including assault and intimidation by her husband, from March of last year until recently.

Immediately after being attacked, B used a previously issued smart watch to request emergency rescue and was transported to a hospital, but ultimately passed away.
(Photo: Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency, Yonhap News)