Surveillance footage captured at around 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 20 shows the suspect in the killing of a Chinese international student in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, leaving his residence dressed in women's clothing. [Yonhap]
Surveillance footage captured at around 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 20 shows the suspect in the killing of a Chinese international student in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, leaving his residence dressed in women's clothing. [Yonhap]

A Chinese part-time lecturer in his 30s has been detained on charges of killing a Chinese graduate student in her 20s and mutilating and abandoning her body in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, as the brutal nature of the crime has sparked an outpouring of anger in China.

The suspect, identified only by his surname Jeong, was taken into custody Thursday. He is accused of killing a 25-year-old Chinese student, referred to as A, at his residence in Hayang-eup, Gyeongsan, in the early hours of Aug. 20.

Jeong reportedly confessed to part of the crime during police questioning, saying he killed A in the early hours of Aug. 20. He also told investigators he mutilated her body and disposed of the remains near Bulguksa temple in Gyeongju and in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, while hiding some parts in a kimchi container at his home.

On his motive, Jeong claimed the two had been in a romantic relationship and that he killed her in a fit of rage after a heated argument in which she pressed him to marry her. Police, however, are treating the account as potentially one-sided and are continuing their investigation, including a forensic examination of his mobile phone.

In China, public anger has mounted since it emerged that the suspect is a fellow Chinese national. Critics have asked how anyone could commit such a crime against a compatriot in a foreign country.

Some Chinese outlets initially reported Jeong's nationality as South Korean, causing confusion, but once it became clear he was Chinese, reactions flooded social media. "I thought it was a Korean who did this — who would have guessed it was one of our own Chinese?" one user wrote. Others warned, "You have to be most careful of the people around you."

South Korea's stance on capital punishment also drew attention. Some Chinese internet users, citing the South Korean legal system, called for harsh punishment, with comments such as "Send him to China where the death penalty is possible" and "He should be deported to China and punished under Chinese law."

On Weibo and other platforms, photos of Jeong teaching at a university have spread widely, and users have begun digging up personal information about him. Some posts went so far as to analyze his facial features, with one claiming that a person who fully covers their forehead tends to hide themselves, while downturned lips tilted to one side indicate a mocking or sarcastic manner of speaking.

Police are searching for the remaining body parts based on Jeong's statements and CCTV footage. After an autopsy to determine the cause and time of death, authorities plan to review whether to add charges of corpse mutilation and illegal disposal of a body.

Jeong has refused to undergo a psychopathy screening administered by police. Authorities are also reviewing whether to release his personal information to the public, taking into account the severity and cruelty of the crime.


bbo@heraldcorp.com