We live in a world where we see a lot, hear a lot, and talk a lot. But, in this constant exposure, we limit ourselves into thinking that we know enough. Today, I wanted to bring to you a murder case which took place this month in Korea.
Of course, I cannot expect global issues to be reported to the US society, but what I can do is expose what I’ve been reading and share what I think is important.
On September 30th, a female middle school student was reported missing by her family. 5 days later, on October 5th, the police arrested a man named Lee Young Hak and the missing girl was found dead on a hill in Gangwon Province, north-east of Seoul.
Nicked-named Molar Daddy, Lee, has been living off on public sympathy and massive donations for suffering a rare medical condition, gigantiform cementomawhich. With this genetic dental disease, he went through numerous surgeries removing tumors from his gums, leaving a singular molar tooth.
Lee and his family have appeared on TV nine times since 2006 with the most recent program being in February this year. He was portrayed on the media as a devoted father who went to great lengths to raise funds to treat his daughter, who also suffered from the same condition. But his public image didn't reflect the monster inside or his criminal record of 18 incidences.
The police investigation for the missing girl brought to light a case more complex. September 5th, Lee’s wife committed suicide leaving behind a death note indicating her life as a victim of constant sexual abuse. Four days before on the 1st, she filed a lawsuit against her father in law, Lee’s father, for 8 years of sexual violence. The year 2009 was when Lee started traveling to the States attempting to acquire more donations for his daughter’s surgeries.
According to News Choson, Lee told his wife to continue having sexual intercourse to acquire evidence for the lawsuit. The day after his wife’s suicide, Lee personally reported this story to JTBC, a Korean cable TV network, playing the devastated husband who needs another donation to pay for his wife’s funeral and his daughter’s surgery. To follow up with his act, around 20 days after, Lee posted a video on Youtube, singing and kissing to a photo of his wife.
The missing girl, who was later revealed to be Lee’s 14-year old daughter’s close friend, was last seen on the CCTV screen at Lee’s apartment.
On October 5th, the police arrests the father and daughter, who were unconscious after an overdose on sleeping pills. After a night of hospitalization, Lee was able to comply with the police investigation.
He explained that the missing girl came over and accidentally took the pills he was saving for himself to follow his wife by committing suicide. He was scared so he disposed of the body. However, the autopsy revealed that the girl suffered broken ribs and asphyxiation, suggesting an act of murder rather than accidental death.
Furthermore, police continued to find various signs of Lee tampering with security footage from his car and manipulating his alibi by posting on social media.
Finally, on the fourth day of questioning, 10th of October, Lee confessed to the murder.
A shocking point that was revealed to the public was that Lee’s daughter was an active accomplice to the murder. It was his daughter who invited her friend to the house, giving her the sedated drink.
According to an article by Naver, a popular Korean search engine, Lee has a psychopathic tendency while his daughter has a strong psychological dependency on him. So, when he convinced her that she needs a mother figure in her life, she complied by bringing her friend over.
The police found Lee to have sadistic sexual preferences from the discovery of various adult products at his house. Although, autopsy results showed no sign of sexual abuse, the police predict it was due to Lee’s inability to perform sexually.
The man, who was once depicted as a humble, yet loving, father, turned out to be living a double life. For years, he took advantage of the public’s sympathy and used his family's ordeal as an opportunity to collect donations from good-hearted people. He spent most of the money he raised to live a life of luxury.
He spent 40 million won ($35,000) on "tuning" his imported car, driving his two luxury vehicles to run errands. His entirely tattooed body, according to experts, would have costed as much as 30 million ($26,000).
Lee's double life, meanwhile, raised questions about journalistic ethics. He was able to raise money— sufficient to finance his daughter's multiple surgeries and his lifestyle — mainly because of his frequent media exposure. Through this case, the Korean public accused the media for their loose practice of checking facts before filming. A simple background search would have revealed the kind of person Lee was.