The defendant, in his 40s and who was not named by local media, strangled his girlfriend of four years on October 20 last year at a home in Gunsan, North Jeolla province, after she berated him for not following her advice on stock investment, according to prosecutors.
He then continued to exchange messages with the victim’s family on her phone and took out a bank loan of 88 million won (US$60,562) under her name, using the money to pay the rent for a villa owned by the woman.
The victim’s younger sister became suspicious when she noticed how her sibling only communicated through text messages. She made a police report in September.
The Chosun daily reported in September that after a first call by police which went unanswered, the sister received a message saying “I am safe and well”, believed to be sent by the defendant through the victim’s phone.
Police later got through on another call, with a woman on the other side of the line. The woman, who was then living with the defendant, admitted to officers she was not the victim and had been asked by him to take the call.
