An attempted murderer who fled to Cambodia after failing to carry out a contract killing has been apprehended and referred for trial 22 years after the case.

On the 13th, Criminal Division 3 of the Gwangju District Prosecutors Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Jin-hee) announced that it had indicted Mr. A in custody on a charge of attempted murder for trying to kill the victim after being commissioned to carry out a contract killing.

Mr. A is accused of ramming the victim with a passenger car on an outlying road in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, in May 2004 with the intent to kill, causing injuries requiring nine weeks of treatment.

It is understood that Mr. A committed the act after accepting a request to kill the victim amid a dispute related to a real estate business.

In 2007, while investigating a fraud case involving Mr. A, prosecutors detected that he had been commissioned to carry out a killing. Two people who took part in the contract killing were apprehended by prosecutors at the time and in 2009 were sentenced to 15 years and 4 years in prison, respectively.

However, when prosecutors began their investigation, Mr. A fled to Cambodia. In 2008, prosecutors obtained an arrest warrant and requested an Interpol Red Notice for Mr. A.

Mr. A, who had been living in Cambodia, was recently arrested by local Cambodian police for another crime. The Ministry of Justice requested extradition from the Cambodian authorities and had Mr. A sent back to Korea. Prosecutors took Mr. A into custody on the 6th.

Prosecutors stated, “We located accomplices and secured statements that Mr. A participated in the case, and we filed the indictment,” adding, “We will do our utmost to sustain the prosecution so that punishment commensurate with the crime can be imposed.”