Yoo Young-chul

Yoo Young-chul (born April 18, 1970) is a South Korean serial killer and self-confessed cannibal. Although he admitted to murdering 21 people, mostly prostitutes and wealthy old men, the Seoul Central District Court convicted him of 20 murders (one case was dismissed on a technicality). Yoo burned three and mutilated at least 11 of his victims, admitting he ate the livers of some of them. He committed his crimes between September 2003 and July 2004, when he was arrested. Yoo explained his motives in front of a TV camera saying "Women shouldn't be sluts, and the rich should know what they've done." He was sentenced to death on June 19, 2005 by the Supreme Court.

His case, which appalled South Koreans, has fueled the debate on capital punishment in South Korea. Although the death penalty is still permissible under law, it has not been carried out since 1997. It appeared capital punishment might be abolished prior to Yoo's arrest, but support for the death penalty has grown since then.

The Seoul Central District Court said: "Murders of as many as 20 people are unprecedented in the nation and a very serious crime. The death penalty is inevitable for Yoo in light of the enormous pains inflicted on the families concerned and the entire society."

List of events and his early crimes

• 1988: Theft
• 1991: Theft (sentenced 10 months in jail)
• June 23, 1993: Married his girlfriend
• 1993: Theft (sentenced 8 months in jail)
• October 26, 1994: His son was born
• 1995: Selling illegal pornography (sentenced 3 million KRW)
• 1998: Theft, forgery, identity theft (sentenced 2 years in jail)
• 2000: Child sexual abuse (rape) (sentenced 3 years 6 months in jail)
• October 27, 2000: Divorced by his wife
• September 11, 2003: Released from jail

Killing spree

• 1st, September 24, 2003 (victims age 72, 67), Gangnam-gu, Seoul: Stabbed the first victim's neck and hit the victim's head with his hammer (4 kg), and killed the second victim (the first victim's wife) with his hammer.
• 2nd, October 9, 2003 (victims age 85, 60, 35), Jongno-gu, Seoul: Killed three people with the hammer
• 3rd, October 16, 2003 (victim age 60), Gangnam-gu, Seoul: Hit the victim's head with the hammer. Later the victim was found by her son at 13:30 but died at 14:00.
• 4th, November 18, 2003 (victims age 53, 87), Jongro-gu, Seoul: Killed the three people with the hammer, got hurt when he tried open a safe, and burned down the house to destroy evidence.
• On December 11, 2003, Yoo met a new girlfriend (escort girl) but later she found out Yoo's list of crimes and told Yoo not to see her again. He then decided to kill escort girls as a revenge.
• 5th, March 16, 2004 (victim age 23), Mapo-gu, Seoul: Killed an escort girl by choking, mutilated the body, trashed them on a trail near Sogang University.
• 6th, April or May, 2004 (victim unknown), Mapo-gu, Seoul: Lured an escort girl to his apartment, beat the victim unconscious with a hammer, decapitated the victim in a bathroom, smashed the victim's head, mutilated the body, then disposed of the body in a construction site near Bongwon Temple in Seodaemun-gu.
• 7th, May, 2004 (victim age 25), Mapo-gu, Seoul: Same procedure as the 6th crime.
• 8th, June 1, 2004 (victim age 35), Mapo-gu, Seoul: Same procedure as the 6th crime.
• 9th, early June, 2004 (victim unknown), Mapo-gu, Seoul: Same procedure as the 6th crime.
• 10th, June 9, 2004 (victim age 26), Mapo-gu, Seoul: Same procedure as the 6th crime.
• 11th, June 18, 2004 (victim age 27), Mapo-gu, Seoul: Same procedure as the 6th crime.
• 12th, June 25, 2004 (victim age 28), Mapo-gu, Seoul: Same procedure as the 6th crime.
• 13th, July 2, 2004 (victim age 26), Mapo-gu, Seoul: Same procedure as the 6th crime.
• 14th, July 9, 2004 (victim age 24 from Aesongi escort), Mapo-gu, Seoul: Same procedure as the 6th crime.
• 15th, July 13, 2004 (victim age 27 from Aesongi escort), Mapo-gu, Seoul: Same procedure as the 6th crime.
• At 5am, July 15, 2004, Yoo was captured by police near Grand-mart in Mapo-gu, Seoul.

In film

• The Chaser (2008), a feature film loosely based on Yoo's story.

See also

• Kang Ho-sun

References

• Yoo Young-cheol at Trutv.com