Kidnap, Rape, And Cannibalism: How A Woman Forced To Kill Her Own Boyfriend Ended A Korean Murder Gang’s Bloody Spree

Recently, Netflix visited stories of true crime in Korea in its docu-series The Echoes of Survivors: Inside Korea’s Tragedies. 

The series followed several tragedies, including the JMS Chuch Cult and Brothers Home, previously in the spotlight. Also included was the Chijon Family murder case, which interviewed the sole survivor of the gang, a woman named Lee Jeong Su.

The Chijon Family comprised seven men and a girlfriend of one, led by the leader, Kim Gi Hwan.

The gang’s primary motivation was their hatred of those they considered to be rich, and in the summer of 1993, Kim Gi Hwan first began recruiting members. The members then pooled their resources and came up with a plan that involved the extortion and kidnapping of wealthy individuals with a variety of weapons purchased.

A woman identified as Miss Choi was the gang’s first victim and was considered “practice” as she was the daughter of a farmer. After gang-raping her, Kim Gi Hwan strangled her to death.  The second victim was actually a former member who attempted to run away with ₩3.00 million KRW (about $2,150 USD) and was shot and killed after getting caught.

Lee Jeong Su and her boyfriend were the next victims of the gang, falsely believed to be rich, and kidnapped from a vehicle. After being taken to the gang’s incineration facility and placed in a prison cell, Lee’s boyfriend was told to give an amount of money that he did not have.

Now knowing that they were not wealthy, they promised him a “painless” death, first supplying him with alcohol to drink. Then, to prevent Lee from escaping or reporting, she was forced to participate in the murder, with one of the gang members holding her hands in place after she put a plastic bag over his head.

When the gang disposed of his body by pushing the car off a cliff, Lee was also gang-raped at the same location.

Lee was forced to participate in the murders of two more victims, Mr. So and Mrs. Park, who actually fulfilled the gang’s demands for money. After they were shot in the head, the gang proceeded to eat parts of the body and forced Lee to consume part of one of the victim’s livers.

Lee’s seven days of torment with the gang ended after one of the members, Kim Hyun Yang, who took a liking to her, took her with him to the hospital where he left her unattended.

Despite fearing it was a test, Lee escaped out of the hospital and flagged a taxi, though she fled after being questioned by the driver about her kidnapper’s identities. She then ran to a vineyard, where she called a car rental service to come pick her up and after waiting for eight hours drove seven hours into Seoul where she reported her experience to the police.

Eventually, police arrested the members of the gang after a sting operation and were shocked by their remorseless behavior as they played up their crimes for cameras. All six of the men were sentenced to death and executed a little more than a year after they were first apprehended, while the member’s girlfriend was only convicted of fleeing from a crime.

Decades after her escape, Lee Jeong Su admitted to still having nightmares about her ordeal, though her bravery was what saved more victims from a terrible fate.