“Haunted By Ghosts” — The Gruesome Crimes Of Korea’s Worst Serial Killer And “First” Psychopath

Very rarely do criminals manage to impact the public in the way that serial killers do. Names like Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy have become known around the world for their horrific crimes.

Another serial killer with an official victim count similar to several of the most infamous was active in Korea and was known as the Raincoat Killer. 

Born in 1970, Yoo Young Chul was initially raised by his grandparents following his parents’ divorce and dealt with living in poverty throughout his childhood. Despite his interest in the arts, he was rejected from attending an arts high school and instead enrolled in a technical one.

During his high school years, his life of crime began, which continued after he was married in 1991.

Most of these charges were related to money, including theft and forgery, barring a 1995 conviction for selling child pornography, until his 2000 conviction for child sexual abuse. His wife divorced him at that time, which is what Yoo states contributed to his resentment towards women.

Yoo’s murder spree began in September 2003, when he killed University professor Lee Deok Su and his wife Lee Eun Ok in their Gangnam home. From then until November 2003, his targets were wealthy senior citizens, fueled by his anger towards the rich.

When investigations intensified, Yoo switched his victim profile, first to female masseuses, then sex workers, murdering and then dismembering the bodies to hide the evidence after a girlfriend’s “betrayal.”  His final victim, an escort named Im Mi Yeon, was killed on July 13, 2004, and he was arrested two days after.

He initially confessed to 19 murders, later confessing to an additional eight victims, and claimed to have eaten parts of some victims’ livers.

After a disruption-filled trial, which included Yoo lunging at judges and refusing to attend, he was sentenced to death, which he thanked the court for. Yoo changed the perception of crime in Korea, becoming the first publicly identified “psychopath” due to his anti-social traits.

Due to the moratorium on the death penalty, Yoo has instead remained on death row for the last two decades, and been the inspiration behind books, a film, and documentary series.

In a 2024 interview, former corrections officer Lee Yoon Hui revealed new information about the killer, saying that he claimed to be haunted by the ghosts of his victims. Yoo continues to wait on death row for the sentence to be carried out.