By Lee Kyung-min
A female college student who disappeared Tuesday was found dead near a reservoir in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, police said Wednesday.
The key suspect in her disappearance, Yun, 43, was found hanged from a tree in an apparent suicide in Wonju, Gangwon Province, on Tuesday evening.
Police said they found the body of the woman, 22, at around 9:45 a.m., about 33 hours after her boyfriend reported her missing to police, and 16 hours after Yun was found dead. Her body was fully clothed and covered with branches when police discovered her remains.
The victim’s boyfriend said the couple had fallen asleep while drunk on a street near Suwon Station in Gyeonggi Province around midnight on Monday. A man, later found to be Yun, woke him up and asked him to go buy some wet tissues so he could tend to the woman, who had vomited on the street.
When the boyfriend returned from a nearby convenience store, he found that both Yun and his girlfriend had disappeared, which he reported to police. Officers found her wallet about two hours later at the entrance of a nearby construction company building where Yun worked.
“There were signs of an altercation in a restroom on the third floor of the building. Floor tiles were broken and her left shoe was found there,” a police officer said. “We suspect Yun killed her there.”
Surveillance footage also showed Yun and the woman entering the building, and Yun coming out carrying her on his back. “There were bruises all over her body, but no critical wounds. The National Forensic Service will perform an autopsy.”
Police suspect Yun put her body in the trunk of his Sonata sedan before moving her to the reservoir in Pyeongtaek near the construction site.
“We believe that he discarded the body there and killed himself in Wonju. His car was also found there,” the officer said.
Police said Yun sent text messages to his family on Tuesday saying, “I am sorry.” He also returned his corporate credit card to his company and left similar text messages for his colleagues.