Seoul Court rejects arrest warrants for two men in body abandonment case

A Seoul court has rejected arrest warrants for a man in his 60s and an 80-year-old landlord accused of abandoning a body in the Guro district. The suspects, who were former landlord and tenant, were found to have left a body wrapped in newspaper and plastic at a residential waste collection site for approximately five days.

The court ruled that there was a low risk of flight or destruction of evidence. The 60-year-old suspect admitted to the act and expressed remorse, while the 80-year-old landlord claimed he believed he was instructing the disposal of an object that looked like a doll.

The deceased has been identified as a Chinese national who was staying in the country illegally. The man had previously resided in the landlord's multi-family housing with his wife. Police are investigating whether the wife fled to avoid reporting the death due to their undocumented status. While no signs of foul play have been confirmed, the exact cause of death remains undetermined due to the advanced state of decomposition.