(2nd LD) Police arrest man suspected of killing female university student

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with quotes, details)
ANSAN, South Korea, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- Police arrested on Sunday a man suspected
of kidnapping and killing a 21-year-old female university student in a town just
outside Seoul.
The 38-year-old suspect, identified as a masseur surnamed Kang with a previous
record for theft and other crimes, has confessed to killing the female student,
who was last seen on Dec. 19 last year and was found dead early Sunday in the
city of Gunpo, south of Seoul.
The case has drawn national attention since several other women have been
reported missing in the area in recent years. South Korea, with a population of
49 million, is considered a relatively safe country with the annual murder rate
hovering below 1,000.
The body of the student was found buried in a rice paddy 37 days after she went
missing, said Park Hak-geun, a senior police official in charge of the case at
the Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency.
"Kang said his motive behind the killing was rape and theft, but he said he
didn't actually go through with the rape because he got nervous," Park told
reporters.
Kang is accused of allegedly luring the victim, who was on her way home, to his
car and stealing her credit card before strangling her.
His partially hidden face was spotted by a CCTV camera installed at a Gunpo bank,
where he withdrew 700,000 won (US$503) using the victim's credit card.
Appearing before a team of investigators in the city of Ansan, 42 kilometers
south of Seoul, Kang, his face covered by a black cap and hood, told reporters
the crime was committed "accidentally" and that he used the money for personal
enjoyment.
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