Lee Chun Jae testified in court that he is the real culprit of murdering 14 women and girls in Hwaseong and Jeonju in the 1980s.

On November 2, Lee Chun Jae appeared as a witness for both the prosecution and his lawyers at the 9th hearing of the 8th case of Lee Chun Jae, which was held at the hearing of the 12th criminal division of the Suwon District Court. Lee Chun Jae reaffirmed in an open court that he had committed all the crimes related to the Hwaseong serial murders.

Lee Chun Jae made his public appearance 34 years after the first incident. He expressed his feelings at the time after the police reinvestigation began last year, saying, "I thought my time had come... I didn't believe these crimes would be buried forever." During the investigation, he stated that "Everything passed by in a flash."

It was reported that Lee Chun Jae confessed to all 14 murders committed in Hwaseong and Jeonju in the 1980s when police came to the prison and questioned him based on DNA test results.

The court refused to allow Lee Chun Jae to be photographed, saying he was only a witness, and the media could not take pictures or videos on the day.

The Hwaseong serial murders were a series of rapes and murders which occurred in the area of Hwaseong in Gyeonggi Province over the span of four years and seven months between 1986 to 1991. This case was considered the most infamous serial killer cases in South Korean history. 

Director Bong Joon Ho's 'Memories of Murder' was based on this serial killer as the killer had not been caught for over 20 years until Lee Chun Jae confessed in 2019.