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Police began to investigate the issue when on December 4, a woman's torso was found in a black garbage bag on a hiking trail up Mt. Paldal. The torso was missing its heads, arms, legs, and internal organs except for both kidneys. At first, police considered that the woman could have been a victim to illegal organ trade, meaning she could have been kidnapped by organ traffickers who wanted to sell her organs. They ruled out the possibility when they found that there were no signs of surgery on her torso.
On December 11, police found four more plastic bags containing pieces of flesh and the woman's underwear near the Suwon Stream, 1.1 km away from where the torso was found. Police confirmed that the flesh and torso were from the same body.
The police were able to pin down Park as a suspect when a real-estate representative reported that Park did not fully pay his rent on December 10 and had not been at his apartment for two weeks. Police investigated his apartment and found blood stains in his bathroom. After analyzing the blood as well as fingerprints, police confirmed that the blood belonged to the same woman whose torso was found on the mountain.
The police then tracked down Park and arrested him at a motel 500 meters away from the hiking trail where the torso was found. Park was reportedly with another woman at the motel when he was arrested.
The police believe that the victim was Park's 48-year-old girlfriend, Kim, who was also Korean-Chinese. She and Park used to live together and her current whereabouts are unknown.
Police have stated, "It's difficult to confirm motive and the placement of the body parts as Mr. Park is exercising his right to remain silent." They continued, "However, due to the clear evidence we found inside his home, we believe it won't be difficult to prove that he did it and charge him."
The city of Suwon is currently in a state of shock and fear as a similar incident happened in the area before in April 2012, when a Korean-Chinese man, Oh Won Choon, kidnapped and chopped up a 23-year-old woman into 300 pieces. Oh was jailed for life.
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