Arya News - Gyeongsan Police Station in North Gyeongsang Province said the remains were found Saturday while officers searched locations identified by the 31-year-old Chinese suspect, surnamed Jeong.
SEOUL – Police in southeastern South Korea have recovered additional remains of a female Chinese graduate student allegedly killed and dismembered by a Chinese university lecturer, authorities said Sunday.
Gyeongsan Police Station in North Gyeongsang Province said the remains were found Saturday while officers searched locations identified by the 31-year-old Chinese suspect, surnamed Jeong.
Police have been taking Jeong to locations where he said he disposed of the victim’s remains. Investigators believe he scattered them across multiple sites after killing and dismembering the woman at his home in Gyeongsan.
Jeong has been relatively cooperative in identifying disposal sites, police said, but searches are continuing.
“We cannot end the search just because something was found at one location. We have to keep checking,” a police official said. “It may be difficult to recover all of the remains before the case is sent to prosecutors.”
Police have also obtained GPS records of Jeong’s movements and are using them to reconstruct his actions before and after the killing. Authorities have declined to disclose details of his statements or a possible motive.
Jeong, a part-time lecturer at a university in the Gyeongsan area, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of killing the 25-year-old Chinese woman, who had previously taken one of his classes.
The victim had returned to Korea from China earlier this month to attend her graduation ceremony and was last seen entering Jeong’s residence on Aug. 20.
Investigators believe Jeong killed her there before mutilating her body and disposing of the remains in several locations, including Gyeongju and Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province.
Police also suspect Jeong tried to make it appear that the victim was still alive. Surveillance footage showed him leaving his residence dressed in women’s clothing and traveling to Dongdaegu Station, where investigators say he turned off the victim’s phone.
He later reported the woman missing himself, telling police she was his girlfriend. Authorities are investigating him on suspicion of murder and obstruction of official duties over the allegedly report.
Jeong has refused a psychopathy assessment planned by police with two criminal profilers. Such tests require a suspect’s consent.
Police said they plan to continue analyzing evidence, verifying Jeong’s statements and searching for the remaining body parts before referring the case to prosecutors, possibly next week.
The case has drawn considerable attention in China. The victim’s family had posted about her disappearance on Chinese social media before police confirmed her death.
On Weibo and other Chinese platforms, some users have called for Jeong to be sent back to China for prosecution, arguing that he could otherwise avoid the death penalty in Korea.
Personal information purportedly identifying him also circulated online before Korean authorities decided whether to disclose his identity.
Korea retains the death penalty but has not carried out an execution since December 1997 and is widely regarded as a de facto abolitionist country. China continues to carry out executions, though it does not publish comprehensive figures.