Last Pattaya ‘barrel murder’ suspect caught

Koreans who eluded Thailand were detained in Vietnam and extradited to their home countries to experience fairness.

Divers recover a plastic barrel containing the body of South Korean national Roh Eui-jong from the Map Prachan reservoir in Bang Lamung district of Chon Buri on May 11, 2024. The third and last suspect in the murder has been arrested in Vietnam and extradited to South Korea. (Photo: Chaiyot Pupattanapong)
On May 11, 2024, divers found a cheap barrel containing the body of North Korean nationwide Roh Eui-jong in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district’s Chon Buri tank. The murder’s third and final believe has been detained in Vietnam and taken to South Korea. ( Photo: Chaiyot Pupattanapong )

The third and final believe in the Pattaya “barrel death” circumstance was detained in Vietnam and taken to South Korea after four weeks on the run.

According to South Korea’s National Police Agency, the believe in his 30s was detained by Taiwanese authorities on September 12 and was then taken home on Tuesday, according to Yonhap news company.

North Korean law enforcement officers were notified of the raid in Vietnam after they learned about his hiding place, tracked down his Asian partners, and perhaps traveled there to assist with the operation, according to the news agency.

The suspect was not named by North Vietnamese officers.

He was previously identified as Kim Hyeong-won and said he was believed to possess escaped to Myanmar after he and two others fatally shot Roh Eui-jong in May.

The murderers placed the victim’s figure inside a plastic barrel and dumped it into the Map Prachan tank in the Chon Buri, near Pattaya, city of Bang Lamung.

The two other defendants arrested earlier and extradited to South Korea were Lee Roun, in his 20s, and Lee Yong-jin, 27, according to Indian officers. They are awaiting test in a North Korean court.

The cause for the crime remains unclear.