[Anchor]

The suspect in the Paju frozen warehouse murder case has been transferred to the prosecution in custody. Police investigation revealed that the suspect installed the freezer with the intent of locking someone inside, and requested a female for the transaction a day before the crime.

Reporter Cho Min-ki has the details.

[Reporter]

A man wearing a hat with his head bowed sits in the back seat of a police transport bus. He is 39-year-old Shin, the suspect in the Paju frozen warehouse murder case.

Today (September 14), police transferred Shin to the prosecution on charges including the murder of an abducted person, as well as the forgery and uttering of securities. Police stated that the crime was committed to make a massive profit by selling approximately 50 billion won worth of forged department store gift certificates.

Initially, the gift certificates were supposed to be appraised by a certificate broker, Mr. A, who had brought the female victim to Paju. However, investigations showed that a day before the incident, Shin requested that "a woman come instead," leading the victim—an acquaintance of Mr. A—to take on the role instead.

It appears Shin judged that a woman would be easier to target. Police also uncovered several other circumstances indicating that Shin planned the crime in advance.

First, Shin began preparing for the frozen warehouse in mid-July, inquired about rentals on August 3, and signed a one-month lease, installing the freezer in his cafe a week before the incident occurred.

A police official stated, "It appears that Shin installed the frozen warehouse to trap anyone who might interfere if problems arose during the transaction, and confined her out of concern that the forgery of the gift certificates would be exposed to the outside."

While Shin claims the murder was impulsive, arguing he did not plan to kill her from the beginning, police maintain that they can prove he confined the woman knowing she could die.

However, the investigation results so far indicate that no one other than Shin participated in murdering the woman.

Police plan to continue their investigation into individuals involved in the production and distribution of the forged gift certificates.

(Camera Reporter: Lee Sang-hak | Video Editor: Choi Hye-ran | Designer: Yang Gi-tae)