On Sept. 21, 2006, a serial killer who murdered 13 people and gravely injured 20 others was sentenced to death.
He did not lower his head even after hearing the verdict of death. Instead, he shifted the blame, saying that if the state and society had helped him, such a tragedy would not have happened.
During the trial, he went so far as to say he could quit smoking but could not quit killing. This was a man who gave up alcohol and cigarettes and kept himself fit so that he could kill.
He was Jung Nam-gyu, the serial killer who held the Seoul metropolitan area in fear for more than two years.
The fear left by Jung's crimes cannot be explained by the number of victims alone. That is because his crime scenes extended beyond late-night streets into homes, the place people consider safest.
The killings began in January 2004. On Jan. 14 that year, he threatened two boys, aged 12 and 13, at a playground in Wonmi District, Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, dragged them to a nearby mountain, sexually assaulted them, and killed them. He then continued his crimes across Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.
At first he targeted victims on the streets, but he later changed his method to breaking into houses. He entered 11 homes, killing seven people and gravely injuring 11 in the process. His victims were mostly women and children—people less able to resist him.
Kwon Il-yong, a criminal profiler who took part in the actual investigation, described Jung on MBC Every1's "Hidden Eye" as a contemptible criminal who was strong before the weak and knew how to wear a mask to hide himself before the strong.
The way he chose his crime scenes also differed from that of ordinary criminals. Rather than seeking out dark places, he attacked victims even in relatively bright spots lit by streetlamps or storefronts. Kwon analyzed that this was because Jung was a pleasure-driven offender who took gratification from directly watching his victims suffer. "He wanted to see his victims plead with his own eyes," Kwon said, adding that not a single victim was attacked from behind.
More chilling still is that he managed his own body in order to keep killing.
Jung is said to have quit alcohol and cigarettes and kept himself fit by running 10 kilometers every day, on the reasoning that he had to be healthy to enjoy the pleasure of killing for a long time. He avoided areas with many security cameras, altered the soles of his shoes to avoid leaving footprints, looked up forensic science materials, and collected crime articles—obsessed with committing the perfect crime.
The reason he prepared so meticulously was not money or a grudge. For him, killing itself was the goal. In police questioning, he stated that on days he killed, he had a bad feeling from the morning and that it could not be relieved without killing. He also reportedly said that after killing someone, his mind became clear and his depression and inner conflict disappeared.
In the process, Jung openly revealed his obsession with killing. During questioning, he said he still wanted to smell blood and that human blood has a fragrance, and after being caught by police, he reportedly went so far as to say he felt anxious about no longer being able to kill. Rather than remorse, he showed unease at the fact that he could no longer continue his crimes.
He even showed a strong sense of rivalry toward Yoo Young-chul, a serial killer of the same era. After learning that Yoo had confessed to the killing of a woman in Imun-dong as his own crime, Jung became enraged, asking in effect why Yoo was boasting about a crime that he himself had committed. In interviews he also took the attitude that he was superior, saying Yoo was a notch below him.
His crimes, which continued for more than 2 years, came to an unexpected end with a house break-in in which he stole 24,000 won.
On April 22, 2006, Jung broke into a house in Singil-dong, Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, stole money, and attacked a man in his 20s who was asleep with a pipe wrench. But the victim and his family fought back and subdued him after a struggle.
Even after being handcuffed, he pushed past a police officer and fled, but he was caught again after a resident reported him while he was hiding behind a crock stand on the rooftop of a house about 15 meters from the crime scene.
At first he was thought to be a simple robber. But a pipe wrench, a mask, rubber-coated gloves, and sneakers with damaged soles were found in his bag. While being taken to the police station, he went so far as to say he should have killed 100 people and that he had failed to pull off the perfect crime.
Even after his arrest, he showed no sign of remorse. On Sept. 21, 2006, the 11th criminal division of the Seoul Southern District Court sentenced Jung to death, saying that because the defendant showed no repentance whatsoever for his wrongdoing, the risk of reoffending if he returned to society was high, making the ultimate penalty unavoidable.
But Jung shifted the blame, saying that if the state and society had helped him, such a tragedy would not have happened, and that cruel and harsh violence had made him what he was.
After the Supreme Court finalized his death sentence in April 2007, he was held in a solitary cell at Seoul Detention Center. On Nov. 21, 2009, he was found after attempting to take his own life and was taken to a hospital, where he died early the next morning. He left no suicide note.
However, notes found in his notebook read that they say there is no intention to abolish the death penalty and that life, which comes and goes fleetingly, is like a cloud. All that remained were traces of anxiety shown, ahead of his own execution, by a man who had revealed murderous urges even after being sentenced to death.
Source: sedaily.com, Kim Yeo-jin, September 21, 2026
"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde
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