[T/W] Media speculate whether Choi Shin Jong warned public earlier over serial murders

**T/W** Article contains details of rape, assault, and knife stabbing + disturbing photos

Source: Joongang Ilbo

Media are speculating whether Choi's brutal actions 8 yrs ago was a warning of his serial murders. 

According to an exclusive report by Joongang Ilbo on the 23rd, former ssireum wrestler Choi Shin Jong (31) was sentenced to five years probation for raping, detaining and threatening a woman in 2012. 

At the time, Choi's five crimes took place in just one day. Choi threatened a woman, the victim, to meet up with him and threatened her family if she didn't. He stated, "let's get some fresh air for a while,"  that's how the nightmare began. 

According to the report, Choi pointed a 20cm kitchen knife at the victim's stomach in a rented car and said, "Don't think I won't kill you." Then he gave the victim the knife and said, "Stab me to death. You'll have to stab me in one go. If you drop the knife, I'll kill you." He reportedly detained her in the car for six hours, threatened her with the kitchen knife, strangled her and raped her.

At the time, however, the court gave Choi Shin Jong a suspended sentence for the crimes stating that "he's reflected on himself and didn't deserve the punishment" and applied the lowest sentence. They also didn't disclose his personal information and register him as a sex offender stating that "he was young and had a chance to fix his mistakes." Choi then came to an agreement with the victim and submitted five letters of apology to the court. This was the basis for "reflection" by Choi according to the prosecution. He also denied that he raped or threatened the victim with a knife. 

Lawyer Oh Sun-hee who was the prosecutor in charge of sexual violence crimes at the time pointed out that Choi's suspended sentence was "a typical mechanical ruling that didn't take into account the individual in the case." He stated, "Choi came to an agreement with the victim and thus the court stayed faithful to their sentencing formula in that regard giving him a suspended three year prison sentence. It's hard to understand why such a terrible crime did not result in a prison sentence. The prosecution even appealed the ruling stating it was too low but the court rejected it."

Analysts stated, "the court's perception of sex crimes and gender sensitivity are much more heightened now compared to 8 years ago. If his case was ruled again today, the chances are high that he would've received a prison sentence."

 

In the meantime, police found a body of a woman in her 20s in an orchard in Sangha-myeon, Wanjugun, North Jeolla on Wednesday. The woman is believed to have gone missing in Busan. Police have also obtained circumstantial evidence that Choi contacted more than 1,000 women through a random chat app and are investigating further damage. 

Choi is suspected of killing another woman in her 30s, an acquaintance of his wife and another woman in her 20s who he met through the app. His personal information has been disclosed to the public and he has been arrested and indicted for the charges but has yet to stand on a photo line in front of the public.

1. [+4,914, -20] Reveal the name of the judge at the time!
2. [+2,879, -32] If you even lightly brush a child in a school zone you get jailed but this ba$tard only got probation?!ㅋㅋㅋ
3. [+2,029, -9] F*** does this judge have no shame??! What the hell was he thinking? Sex offenders don't just end it after doing it one time. This ba$tard had a criminal record and everyone around him said he was a terrible person. ㅡㅡ If he got sentenced 8 yrs ago it would've saved lives.
4. [+1,088, -10] These judges are all out of the loop with the public sentiment when it comes to these cases. They only care to stay within the legal framework that they don't stay objective and end up screwing up the judgements..
5. [+807, -6] The incompetence and indulgence of judges in this country has just gone too far! We can't rely on the independence of these judges anymore
6. [+153, -2] The rape victim probably got scared and came to an agreement with him but this stupid judge released him on probation and killed two people 
7. [+74, -10] Ladies please don't meet random men from chat apps. We need to protect ourselves in this scary world of today 

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