Statutes-barred cases only stay in the memory

There are often cases of which criminals are not punished as they are caught after the statute of limitations expired. The statute of limitations law prohibits prosecutors from charging for the commission of a crime after a time limit.

One of such cases is a serial murder case that took place in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. during the period from September 1986 to April 1997A total of 10 women were murdered after sexual assault for four years and seven months. The case is well-known as the movie titled "Memories of Mulder," The police received countless tips and made every effort to the investigation but failed to arrest the criminal. In the end, its statute of limitations expired as of April 2006 and the suspect who fears the nation was not caught.

Another example is a kidnapping and murder case of Lee Hyung-ho (aged 9 at the time of adduction) in January 1991. The case was statute barred as of January 2006 and which was made as the movie titled ‘Voice of a murderer’ as well. The statutes of limitations of a case of the Fog Boys, which were a group of five boys who disappeared and killed in March 1991, has expired in the same year. Their remains were discovered in September 2002, after 11 years and six months in the halfway up the Mt. Waryong, Daegu. But the culprit left no clues.

In November 1999, then 44-year-old man, identified by the surname Lee, was found dead in his car, parked at an intersection of an apartment building in Jeju City. His cause of death was excessive bleeding from the three stab wounds to the heart and stomach with a sharp object. Big blood squirt was spread all over the street and inside the car. Lee worked as a prosecutor before moving back to his hometown Jeju and he started to work there as a lawyer. As the statute of limitations expires in November 2014, this case also left unsolved.

The most recent case remained unsolved was the murder of a dentist and her daughter in June 1995. Then 31-year-old dentist Choi and her daughter were found dead in the bathtub at her house in Eunpyeong District, Seoul. Her husband Mr. Lee, a surgeon, was the prime suspect. The prosecutors argued that he murdered his wife and daughter and set fire to his home but his lawyer insisted that there was no direct evidence to prove that he committed the crime he is accused of. The legal battle has continued for over seven years and eight months. In 2003, the Supreme Court sentenced of innocence and the statutes of limitations expired in 2010.

According to the November 25 release of the Korean National Police Agency, there are eight cases of which statutes of limitations have expired and the suspects are still on the loose during the period of 2012 to 2014.

Dong-Hyuk Kim hack@donga.com