The news of that day has passed, but its meaning remains with us today. "That Day, Today" reads the present through the records of the past.
Eight years ago today, on Oct. 25, 2018, four members of a family were found dead in an apartment in Busan's Saha District. The victims were an 84-year-old grandmother surnamed Park, her 65-year-old son surnamed Cho, his 57-year-old wife surnamed Park, and their 33-year-old daughter surnamed Cho. Police concluded that the granddaughter's former boyfriend, a 32-year-old man surnamed Shin, had killed them. Shin was also found dead at the scene.
Shin had been close to the victims' family and had at one point been addressed by them as a son-in-law. But he continued contacting the family even after breaking up with the younger Cho, and acquaintances told police he had behaved violently during the relationship. Police found evidence that Shin had begun preparing for the attack a month in advance, purchasing tools and searching for information on closed-circuit television cameras.
He Even Searched CCTV Locations, Then Struck as Each Came Home
According to the police investigation, Shin entered the apartment in Saha District at about 4:12 p.m. on Oct. 24, the day before the killings, wearing sunglasses and a hat and carrying a large bag. The younger Cho's father was inside the home at the time. Over the next one to two hours, her mother and grandmother returned home, and she herself arrived after midnight. Police believe Shin killed the family members one after another.
The bag Shin brought contained a knife, a blunt instrument and a stun gun, all believed to have been used in the attack. Police also confirmed that he had bought the stun gun online on Sept. 28, about a month before the killings, and searched for instructions on how to use it. Records showed he had also searched for and saved information on the locations of CCTV cameras across Saha District. On that basis, police concluded the attack had been planned in advance.
The case came to light the following day, when a relative reported it. A son-in-law who was in frequent contact with the family had arranged to watch a fireworks display with his mother-in-law, and when he could not reach her, he went to the apartment with police. Inside, they found the bodies of the four family members and of Shin.
The bodies of three victims, excluding the granddaughter, were found stacked in the bathroom and covered with plastic sheeting and a basin. The younger Cho's body was found in the living room. In addition to wounds from a knife and a blunt instrument, her body showed signs of strangulation.
Shin left the scene after the killings, then returned and took his own life. According to the police investigation, he left the apartment at about 9:50 a.m. on the 25th, retrieved a nitrogen gas cylinder from his car and went back inside. He was later found dead in a small bedroom, asphyxiated by the nitrogen gas. Shin had remained at the scene of the killings for about 17 hours.
Contact Continued After the Breakup, With Signs of Violence During the Relationship
Shin and Cho had lived together starting about a year before the killings. He was also close to her family and had once stayed at their home for nearly a month. The couple clashed while living together and broke up in August 2018.
Police gathered statements from acquaintances saying Shin had been intensely possessive of Cho and that the two quarreled frequently over minor matters. Witnesses also said he had behaved violently during arguments, including throwing household appliances. One statement said Shin, believing Cho cared more for her dog than for him, had thrown the animal and killed it.
The investigation also found that the couple's conflicts persisted as Shin's frequent job changes created financial strain. Police said tensions deepened after Cho was assaulted by Shin when she went to collect her belongings, and her mother, on learning of the assault, confronted him over it.
Shin kept contacting the family after the breakup. Police confirmed that he had spoken by phone with Cho 13 times and with her mother 10 times. Investigators examined his motive based on statements from acquaintances describing his intense fixation on his former girlfriend and his repeated violent behavior.
Drawing on digital forensic analysis and autopsy findings, police concluded that the killings were a crime of passion driven by Shin's distorted obsession and violent tendencies. Because the suspect was dead, however, the case was closed without prosecution.
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