The cafe owner who locked a woman inside a cafe freezer in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, and murdered her was found to have installed the freezer in preparation for his counterfeit gift certificates being discovered during large-scale transactions.

The Gyeonggi Paju Police Station sent the cafe owner in his 30s, identified as A, to the prosecution today (the 14th) under arrest on charges including murder of a kidnapped person and the counterfeiting and uttering of securities.

Police believe that A attempted the transactions to gain financial profit by selling fake gift certificates worth 50 billion won.

Investigations showed that the freezer was intentionally installed with the purpose of trapping individuals who could pose an obstacle if problems arose during the transaction process.

Police have not disclosed specific details regarding what kind of plan A had or whether there was an intent to murder, stating that the investigation is still ongoing.

It is reported that there are no circumstances indicating accomplices were involved in the murder so far.

However, B, who acted as an intermediary between A and the victim during the gift certificate transactions including counterfeiting, has been booked on charges of counterfeiting securities and is under investigation.

Previously on the 4th, police discovered the body of the missing person C inside the freezer of a cafe in Munsan-eup, Paju, and A was arrested on charges of murdering a kidnapped person.

Police formed an investigation team consisting of 17 members, including three violent crime teams from the Criminal Division of the Paju Police Station, to investigate the motive for the crime and fraud charges related to the gift certificates.