Man charged with murder of Korean man
Date December 20, 2013
Marissa Calligeros
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The man accused of killing a South Korean man will spend Christmas in jail.
Sanghyun "Sungwon" Hwang from Woolloongabba sat quietly in the dock of the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday as he faced a charge of murder.
Dressed in brown prison clothing, Mr Hwang turned his face away from reporters and looked down at his hands as a female interpreter stood by to relay proceedings to him.
Korean student Min Tae Kim. Photo: Facebook
Mr Hwang is accused of murdering fellow countryman Min Tae Kim, whose body was found in a shallow grave on Thursday, four days after he disappeared from his share house in Cannon Hill in Brisbane's south.
One housemate attended Friday’s hearing out of respect to Mr Kim, but said he did not wish to speak to the media.
The hearing lasted only minutes.
Police work near a shallow grave found on a property in Algester. Photo: Nine News
Mr Hwang was remanded in custody until January 20, when the case will return to court.
Mr Kim had been planning to return to South Korea in a few weeks, after working hard for two years to build a nest egg to take home.
He had posted an ad on a website - which is regularly used by international students in Brisbane - seeking someone to exchange up to $A15,000 cash for South Korean Won.
Descend on a property in Algester as part of their investigation into the disappearance of missing Korean man Min Tae Kim. Photo: Seven News
Police allege Mr Kim left his house with his cash to make an exchange with Mr Hwang about 1.30pm on Monday, but he never returned.
Detectives descended on an Algester property on Thursday afternoon, while a second crime scene was established on Peel Street in South Brisbane.
It is understood evidence was recovered from an industrial bin at the South Brisbane site.
The accused killer's two housemates were also taken into custody for questioning, but were released without charge.
Detective Inspector Rod Kemp said police had been in touch with Mr Kim's family and members of Brisbane's Korean community, which was still reeling from the death of Eunji Ban who was attacked in an inner-city park last month.
‘‘It's different to Eunji Ban, thank goodness for that,’’ he said.
It is understood Mr Kim made three cash withdrawals of $4000 from his account on Friday.
His housemates believed he arranged to exchange $15,000 cash, although it is understood the amount could have been only $8000.
Mr Kim’s housemates warned him about the dangers of his plan, but said he insisted on pursuing the best possible exchange rate.
"But my flatmates said, ‘no, don't go, it's weird’," flatmate Jacob Park said.
"And he [Mr Kim] said, ‘OK I will go outside and say I don't want to go with you'."
It was the last time that Mr Kim's housemates saw him. They tried to call him about 2.30pm, but his mobile phone rang out.
Mr Park said Mr Kim was a quiet flatmate, who aspired to be a musician.
He had moved into the Cannon Hill home with five other Korean nationals only six weeks ago and had recently resigned from his job at a meat packing plant operated by Australian Country Choice.
During recent months he had used his days off to explore Montville in the Sunshine Coast hinterland and been skydiving at Byron Bay in northern New South Wales.
Last month, Korean student Eunji Ban was attacked and bashed to death in an inner-city park while she walked to work.
Brisbane teenager Alex Reuben McEwan has been charged with her murder, although criminal proceedings against the 19-year-old have been temporarily suspended because of the accused’s mental health issues.
The Council of International Students Australia national president Thomson Ch’ng said both incidents would knock people’s confidence in Brisbane being a safe place to study.
"Two incidents within three weeks is not good for Brisbane and Australia," he said.
"The fact is, international students are important bridges between Australia and the international community and whatever happens here [in Australia], the world is watching."
- with AAP
