‘Korean Zodiac Killer’, Subject Of Bong Joon-ho Film, Has Been Identified 30 Years After Serial Murders
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A South Korean serial killer who inspired a film by Palme D’or-winning director Bong Joon-ho has been identified 30 years after his murder spree.
The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency says a suspect has been identified as the previously unknown “Korean Zodiac Killer.” The man, Lee Chun-jae, allegedly raped and murdered 10 women from 1986 to 1991, and was later the subject of Bong Joon-ho’s 2003 film, Memories of a Murder.
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Bong Joon-ho won the Cannes Film Festival’s most prestigious award, the Palme D’or, earlier this year for his film Parasite.
The police finally linked the man to three of the unsolved murders using DNA evidence from a victim’s underwear, The Guardian reported.
“In July this year, we sent part of the evidence to the National Forensic Service, the results of which show that the DNA of the suspect matches at least three of the 10 cases,” police said.
Unfortunately, the man in custody can’t be tried for the killings. The statute of limitations expired in 2006. He is currently incarcerated for raping and murdering his sister-in-law in 1994.
“I express my deep condolences to the victims and their families, as well as the Korean public, for not having been able to solve this case for a long time,” Gyeonggi Nambu police officer Ban Gi-soo told The Guardian. “We will do our best to discover the truth with a sense of historical responsibility.”
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