By Park Si-soo
Staff reporter
Kim Soo-chul, who kidnapped and raped a child eight days ago, stepped out of a police vehicle with his hands roped and escorted by police in a residential district in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul, Tuesday, to point out where he had committed his heinous crime.
In the district packed with reporters and neighbors, Kim confessed he kidnapped the primary schoolgirl after threatening her with a blunt weapon, and raped her in his room.
"I'm sorry. A sex-hungry monster within me seems to have driven me (to commit the crime)," Kim told reporters. The 45-year-old was wearing a black cap and pants and a loose red T-shirt, the outfit he wore at the time.
"I deserve to die," he said, adding he was under the influence of alcohol so that his sense of judgment was out of control at the time.
The on-site inspection ran for two hours at two venues - the playground of a primary school where Kim kidnapped the victim and at his house just 500 meters away.
People watching the scene hurled curse words at Kim.
"Pull off his cap to see what he looks like," a resident shouted in anger. "Such a sexual predator should have his face exposed to the public."
A female high school student in the crowd said, "I was really shocked that such a brutal crime took place near my home."
On June 7, Kim kidnapped the girl who was strolling across the playground of her school in Yeongdeungpo to attend an after-school class and raped her at his home. It was Monday, but the campus was all but empty since it was a school-designated holiday.
The sexual violence left the girl in a critical physical condition, which doctors say will require months of intensive medical care.
Kim was caught just 10 hours after he committed the assault in an old section of the town near the crime scene, which is soon to be demolished in line with an urban redevelopment project. He is now in custody awaiting trial.
He was confirmed to have been convicted of similar charges several times, showing loopholes in supervising ex-convicts found guilty of previous sexual crimes. Police are widening the investigation based on intelligence that it was frequently noted by residents that he was with teenage girls.
Police found a notepad containing about 10 female names, their cell phone numbers and bank accounts.
The authorities are reeling under a barrage of criticism over alleged attempts to cover up the case. Some investigators are under intense scrutiny over false reports to their bosses that the victim's parents wanted to proceed with the investigation in a secret manner.
"It was to protect the victim from any subsequent damage from media reports," said a police officer familiar with the case. "This was the only reason."