"Just die, a pounding punch." The perpetrator of the late Director Kim Chang-min's case, along with an accomplice, mocked the police in intercepted calls, sparking public outrage.

*This content was translated by AI.

Recordings containing details of the suspects' attempts to cover up the collective beating that killed the late Director Kim Chang-min, as well as conversations mocking the police's initial investigation, have been made public.

According to a report by JTBC on the 11th, the main perpetrator, Lee, who beat director Kim, called his accomplice, Lim, after being questioned by the police alone on the day of the incident.

During the call, Lee told Lim, "I kicked him with the intention of killing him, went back, kicked him again, and he seemed to be asleep, so I kicked him again. I said, 'Just die,' and delivered a pounding punch." A pounding punch is a fighting technique where one climbs on top of a fallen opponent and strikes them unilaterally.

Furthermore, Lee repeatedly revealed his intent to kill, stating, "I thought I had to kill him with my own hands" and "I only thought about killing him."

Lee also mocked the police investigation. Although the police checked CCTV footage capturing the scene of the crime during the early stages of the investigation, they believed only Lee's statement that "Lim tried to stop the assault" and excluded Lim from the list of suspects.

In a call with Lim, Lee said, "XX, it's funny that (the police) don't think both of us did it. You just said you tried to stop it. You didn't even mention that you put him in a headlock inside," thereby mentioning the fact of covering up the crime.

The recordings of the calls between Lee and Lim were obtained late during a search and seizure operation by the Prosecution Service's dedicated investigation team, six months after the incident occurred. Previously, the police sent the case to prosecutors without conducting a search and seizure during the initial investigation stage, and arrest warrants were rejected twice before being issued only after the recordings were secured, drawing public outrage.

Earlier, director Kim was involved in a dispute with a group of men in their 20s while having a meal with his developmentally disabled son at a restaurant in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, on October 20 last year. The suspects knocked the victim unconscious with a so-called "back choke" from behind, carried out a indiscriminate collective beating, and even dragged director Kim outside the restaurant to continue the assault.

As a result, director Kim suffered a brain hemorrhage and fell into a coma. Although he received treatment in the intensive care unit, he never regained consciousness, was declared brain dead on November 7, 2025, and passed away after donating his organs to give new life to four people.

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*This content was translated by AI.