Hwaseong serial murders
The Hwaseong serial murders (Hangul: 화성 연쇄 살인 사건; hanja: 華城連鎖殺人事件; RR: hwaseong yeonswae sarin sageon) were a series of unsolved serial murders that occurred in the South Korean city of Hwaseong between September 15, 1986 and April 3, 1991.[1] Ten women were found bound, raped, and murdered. The murders are considered to be the most infamous in the modern history of South Korea. The Korean film Memories of Murder (2003) and television series Gap-dong (2014) are based on these murders.
History
Ten women from the ages of fourteen to seventy-one were found gagged, raped, and murdered over a four-year, seven-month period in the rural city of Hwaseong in Gyeonggi Province. Most of the women were strangled to death by use of their own clothes, such as pantyhose and socks. The evidence compiled led to a description of a man in his twenties weighing between 165 and 170 pounds and having the blood type B based on forensic testimony.
The case is very famous within Korea for being one of the first truly identifiable strings of murders with a modus operandi. The largest amount of police officers ever fielded occurred for this case to the count of two million officers. The total amount of suspects also grew to enormous numbers, eventually ending with a total count of 21,280 individuals.
The statute of limitations ran out on the case on April 2, 2006, after fifteen years. However, the police records are still kept because of the significance of the case.