True Crime

Park Wang-yeol left South Korea a failed businessperson and a man accused of fraud. When he was repatriated to South Korea in March 2026, several police officers escorted him through the airport as journalists crowded around him, with his return making headlines across the country. Between those two moments lies a story of triple murder, two prison escapes and an international drug ring that began behind the walls of a Philippine prison. Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10887548 Credits Reporting & writing: Park Jun-hee Editing: Lee Sun-young, Devin Whiting Hosts & guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sik Producer: Park Jun-hee Audio editing: Noh Seong-min Artwork: Hwang Da-eun

In January 1987, the South Korean Embassy in Singapore received a call from the US Embassy about a suspicious asylum seeker, a 28-year-old Korean named Yun Tae-shik. Yun claimed he had narrowly escaped an attempted kidnapping by North Korean agents, alleging that the operation’s point person was none other than his wife. But his story quickly began to unravel. It was soon revealed that Yun had attempted to defect to North Korea before approaching the US Embassy. Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10859165 Credits Reporting & writing: Yoon Min-sik Editing: Lee Sun-young, Devin Whiting Hosts & guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sik Producer: Park Jun-hee Audio editing: Noh Seong-min Artwork: Yu Soo-in

The #MeToo movement pulled back the curtain on toxic work cultures in the entertainment industry — exposing how powerful men exploited women behind the scenes. In the United States, the fall of Harvey Weinstein became a defining moment, leading to convictions and a broader reckoning in Hollywood. But in South Korea, there is a case that never reached that point. Related article: Credits Reporting & writing: Yoon Min-sik Editing: Lee Sun-young, Devin Whiting Hosts & guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sik Producer: Park Jun-hee Audio editing: Noh Seong-min Artwork: Yu Soo-in

"His Excellency doesn't allow his second-in-command to live." In the 2020 movie "The Man Standing Next," the character Park Yong-gak, based on former Korean Central Intelligence Agency chief Kim Hyung-wook, utters the ominous line about then-President Park Chung-hee. Kim, once at the pinnacle of power, went missing after last being seen at a hotel casino in Paris on Oct. 7, 1979. This episode delves into conspiracy theories surrounding the mysterious death of Kim Hyung-wook, an intelligence chief-turned-whistleblower under the Park Chung-hee dictatorship. Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10723619 Credits Reporting & writing: Yoon Min-sik Editing: Lee Sun-young, Devin Whiting Hosts & guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sik Producer: Park Jun-hee Audio editing: Noh Seong-min Artwork: Yu Soo-in

Human fascination with mysticism and the afterlife has endured for millennia -- from protective spells in ancient Mesopotamia to prohibitions against magic in the Hebrew Bible, from necromancy in folklore across cultures to the hysteria of the Salem witch trials, where more than 200 people were accused of witchcraft. Today, few people would still believe it is truly possible to cast a curse or summon the dead. But in 2012 in South Korea, a small group of teenagers and young adults became engrossed in just such ideas. This episode examines how an online forum devoted to summoning spirits crossed the line from dark fascination into deadly action, culminating in the murder of a 20-year-old college student — once one of their own. Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10702769 Credits Reporting & writing: Yoon Min-sik Editing: Lee Sun-young, Devin Whiting Hosts & guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sik Producer: Park Jun-hee Audio editing: Noh Seong-min Artwork: Yu Soo-in

Lee Young-hak was once the darling of South Korea. The public gave him the nickname "Molar Daddy" after the rare disease, known as gigantiform cementoma, that caused disfigurement of his and his daughter's mouths. But a horrifying truth was uncovered a decade later. In 2017, the nation was stunned by the news that the once-beloved Molar Daddy was facing murder and sexual assault charges. This episode will delve into how the father and daughter turned out to be accomplices in a heinous crime, and how many people were blinded by his tearjerker of a life story that concealed his dark side. Related article: Credits Reporting & writing: Yoon Min-sik Editing: Lee Sun-young, Devin Whiting Hosts & guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sik Producer: Park Jun-hee Audio editing: Noh Seong-min Artwork: Yu Soo-in

Countless murders have occurred in this world. Some driven by rage, others by revenge or by money. But what if someone kills without hatred, without greed, claiming instead that they did it out of love? What if the victims were not strangers, but one’s own parents, wife and children? This episode is about a man who killed his entire family, believing he was protecting them from future hardship. Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10678062 Credits Reporting & writing: Shin Ji-hye Editing: Lee Sun-young, Devin Whiting Hosts & guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sik Producer: Park Jun-hee Audio editing: Noh Seong-min Artwork: Yu Soo-in

In May 2000, in South Korea, a young man from what appeared to be an ordinary, middle-class family murdered both of his parents. He was 23, enrolled at one of the country’s top universities, and had never shown signs of violence. As investigators dug deeper, the case shifted from a question of how the crime happened to why. What emerged was a childhood shaped by crushing expectations, constant comparison, and years of physical and emotional abuse. This episode examines the Lee Eun-seok case, the story of a son who was never enough, and the moment he reached his breaking point. Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10662969 Credits Reporting & writing: Yoon Min-sik Editing: Lee Sun-young, Devin Whiting Hosts & guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sik Producer: Song Seung-hyun Audio editing: Noh Seong-min Artwork: Yu Soo-in

For nearly 20 years, one detail defined two notorious murder cases in Seoul’s Sinjeong-dong — a sticker of a cute bunny character called Mashimaro. It shaped public memory, media narratives and online speculation. But police now say it was the wrong clue. This episode reexamines what really happened in Sinjeong-dong in 2005, and how public attention blurred unrelated crimes, a truth only uncovered after the real killer was finally identified in November 2025. Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10649282 Credits Reporting & writing: Song Seung-hyun Editing: Lee Sun-young, Devin Whiting Hosts & guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sik Producer: Song Seung-hyun Audio editing: Noh Seong-min Artwork: Yu Soo-in

In South Korea, one of the most closely watched societies in the world, almost every murder is solved. Almost. Fifteen years ago, in a secure high-rise outside Seoul, a murderer walked away unseen. This episode revisits the 2010 killing of an elderly woman in her spacious 14th-floor apartment home, a case that even pervasive surveillance failed to solve. Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10638262 Credits Reporting & Writing: No Kyung-min Editing: Lee Sun-young, Devin Whiting Hosts & Guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sik Producer: Song Seung-hyun Audio Editing: Noh Seong-min Artwork: Yoo Doo-ho, Yu Soo-in

In the early summer of 2019, a husband joined his wife and several of her friends on a trip to a valley in Gapyeong, South Korea. What should have been a carefree getaway turned deadly when the husband drowned. In this episode, we explore the Gapyeong valley murder case that shocked South Korea in 2020. A story of blind love, a toxic relationship and psychological manipulation by Lee Eun-hae, a woman whose young and delicate appearance concealed her shocking true colors. Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10620507 Credits Reporting & Writing: Yoon Min-sik Editing: Lee Sun-young, Devin Whiting Hosts & Guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sik Recording: Song Seung-hyun Audio Editing: Noh Seong-min Artwork: Yu Soo-in

An abandoned quarry. A man, nailed to a cross. Around Easter 2011, a grotesque death shocked South Korea. Could this be the act of an eccentric cult? As investigators dug deeper into the haunting case, the story unfolded in unexpected ways — the man seems to have meticulously planned his own crucifixion. Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10598860 Credits Reporting, writing: Yoon Min-sik Editing: Lee Sun-young, Kevin Selzer Hosts and guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sik Producer: Song Seung-hyun Audio editing: Noh Seong-min Artwork: Yu Soo-in, Yu Doo-ho

Why do some killers become household names, while others fade into obscurity — despite committing crimes just as horrifying? In this episode, we uncover the chilling story of Kim Dae-doo, South Korea’s first known serial killer. Unlike the infamous figures immortalized in films and crime blogs, Kim’s name barely registers today, even though he brutally murdered 17 people, including a 3-month-old baby, in a span of just under two months. Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10586936 Credits Reporting & Writing: No Kyung-min Editing: Lee Sun-young, Devin Whiting Hosts & Guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sik Producer: Song Seung-hyun Audio Editing: Noh Seong-min Artwork: Yu Doo-ho, Yu Soo-in

On a chilly Wednesday evening in November 2003, 14-year-old Eom Hyun-ah set out on a familiar shortcut home through the quiet outskirts of a village in South Korea. It was a dark, rarely traveled path, but one she had walked many times before. This time, she never returned. What began as a routine walk quickly turned into a haunting mystery that would grip the nation and leave a family desperate for answers. In this episode, we delve into the 2003 kidnapping and murder of Eom Hyun-ah in a village in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province. Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10567916 Credits Reporting & Writing: No Kyung-min Editing: Lee Sun-young, Devin Whiting, Paul Kerry Hosts & Guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sik Producer: Song Seung-hyun Audio Editing: Noh Seong-min Artwork: Yu Soo-in

In the early 1990s, five young boys set out on a forest excursion and never came home. Their sudden disappearance sent shockwaves across South Korea. Their faces became impossible to avoid, plastered everywhere from milk cartons to detergent boxes. It was a story that no Korean who lived through that era could escape. In this episode of True Crime, we take you back to March 1991, when five boys mysteriously disappeared at the same time in a small, rural village in South Korea. Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10553458 Credits Reporting, writing: Song Seung-hyun Editing: Lee Sun-young, Devin Whiting Hosts and guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sik Audio editing: Song Seung-hyun Artwork: Yu Soo-in

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to glimpse someone’s final moments, before life slips away? It’s a disturbing thought, but death makes headlines. In 1982, a South Korean photographer was consumed by the desire to witness and capture death. He believed death could be art — a provocative, forbidden form that would make his name known worldwide. Related article: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10534712 Credits Reporting, writing: Song Seung-hyun Editing: Lee Sun-young, Devin Whiting Hosts and guests: Devin Whiting, Yoon Min-sik Audio editing: Song Seung-hyun Artwork: Yu Soo-in