Murder suspect confesses to killing seven women

SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- Police said Friday that a man arrested on charges of kidnapping and murdering a female university student and a housewife confessed to killing five other women who went missing since late 2006 just outside of Seoul.

Investigators at the Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency said that the 38-year-old
suspect, identified as Kang Ho-sun, admitted to murdering a total of seven women,
including the five reported missing between December 2006 and January 2007.
Kang, a masseur with a lengthy criminal record, was arrested on Sunday for
killing a female university student who was last seen on Dec. 19 last year and
found dead in Gunpo, south of Seoul, earlier this week.
On Thursday night, Kang confessed to murdering a 48-year old housewife who
disappeared on her way home in the nearby city of Suwon last November, after
police investigators found blood stains matching her DNA at his farm.
The suspect, who was previously charged with rape, told police that he felt an
urge to kill when seeing women after his wife died in 2005. The other five women
allegedly killed by Kang include two karaoke bar employees aged 45 and 37,
respectively, a 52-year-old office worker and a 20-year-old university student.
Kang's arrest has drawn national media attention due to brutal nature of his
crimes. Kang is also suspected of having intentionally set fire to his house in
Ansan, near Suwon, three years ago. His fourth wife and her mother-in-law were
killed in the blaze and Kang collected huge insurance payouts.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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