Unsolved cases that 'Signal' could crack

By Kwon Ji-youn

Cable network tvN’s “Signal,” starring Kim Hye-soo, Cho Jin-woong and Lee Je-hoon, tells the story of three investigators working on unsolved cases as the statute of limitations for first-degree murder is scrapped.

With the show’s growing popularity, attention is turning to some of Korea’s most infamous unsolved cases, those that will remain unsolved because only cases that occurred after 2000 are subject to the National Assembly’s revised bill that abolished the 25-year statute of limitations.

The poster for the 2003 film “Memories of Murder” /Korea Times file

Hwaseong serial murders

The murders occurred from Sept. 15, 1986, to April 3, 1991, in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.

Ten women aged 14 to 71 were found bound, gagged, raped and murdered over a four-year, seven-month period. Most were strangled by their own clothes, such as pantyhose and socks.

The case, which was re-explored in the 2003 film “Memories of Murder,” was one of the first serial murders that had a clear method. The total number of suspects grew to 21,280 when the crimes’ statute of limitations expired in April 2006. It is considered the “Zodiac Killer” case of Korea.

“Signal” dedicated its first four episodes to reconstructing the Hwaseong serial murders.

A scene from the 2007 film "Voice of a Murderer" /Korea Times file

Kidnapping of Lee Hyung-ho

The 2007 film “Voice of a Murderer” is based on the kidnapping of the nine-year-old boy 15 years ago.

Lee’s body was found in a ditch near his home in Apgujeong-dong, Seoul, after 44 days of phone calls demanding a ransom. The autopsy revealed the boy was killed almost immediately after being kidnapped.

The killer was never caught, and the 15-year statute of limitations on the case expired in January 2006.

The prime suspect was released due to lack of evidence.

Frog boys

The “frog boys” were five elementary school students who disappeared on March 26, 1991. Their bodies were found 11 years later - they had been murdered.

The boys had gone to nearby Mt. Waryong in search of salamander eggs. The police set a hefty reward and some 350,000 officers were put on the case, but it was not until 11 years and six months later that their bodies were found halfway up the mountain.

The autopsy concluded that the boys had been murdered with repeated blows to the head and one boy had been shot. No suspect was prosecuted, and their deaths remain a mystery.