Yoo Young-cheol

When he got out of a South Korean prison in 2003, his first goal was to capture a lot of stray dogs so that he could beat them to death and perfect his killing technique. That done, he planned to murder 100 wealthy people and steal their money.

Excerpts:

"Following the story of Jeong, Yoo felt the wealthy were the causes of all that is wrong with Korean society and were the people to blame for his life's misery. He would beat them like dogs. He planned to kill over a hundred people.

Police investigations of the serial killings of Yoo Young-cheol would later reveal that he was a methodical man. His forethought was extraordinary and his attention to detail was superb. The physical act of bludgeoning a human was no exception. He needed to practice up for such violence."

* * *

"The house he picked looked easy to break into. A common feature of most two-story houses in Korea is a walled area around the house that forms a courtyard. Most homeowners use this space to cultivate bonsai trees, raise herbs and potted plants or to have their very own micro-patch of grass amidst the concrete blight of urban Seoul. The outer wall is usually between shoulder to head level and a two-door gate beckons you inside.

The house Yoo cased fit that profile. It was situated at the entrance of an alley near a main road. It had a little garden behind the wall and no security system. It seemed the only people that lived there was an elderly couple. He watched the house for ten minutes before making his move. Wearing gloves, he climbed over the back wall and entered through the front door. He was armed with his homemade hammer and a knife with a six-inch blade."

* * *

"The Mapo district, where he lived, was a poor area with no electricity and running water, and residents had to get water from a public well. Yoo had two older brothers and a younger sister. One brother eventually ran away from home. His father had a replacement for his mother, and the stepmother savagely beat Yoo's sister. She never hit Yoo because he unnerved her so much from staring at her for hours with contempt and hate."

* * *

"When Yoo stepped outside of his apartment, he picked up calling cards off the ground. They are everywhere in Seoul—stuffed under windshield wipers, tucked in mailboxes, and seemingly tossed about on any flat surface. There are so many around that most people cast them aside as litter. On the card is always an erotic photo of a beautiful woman promising hot sex and a number to call."

* * *

"Yoo led the police to where he buried the bodies of the women he killed. Before the temple grounds of Bongwon is a small hamlet that borders a quieter, secluded world and the frenetic cement jungle of Seoul. It is a neighborhood where the traditional tile roof houses still exist under the canopies of Zelkova trees and Buddhist paper lanterns are strung up on the narrow lanes that lead up to the temple."

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Copyright © James Card.