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Shock and anger are spreading in China after the suspect arrested over the killing of a Chinese international student in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, turned out to be a Chinese part-time lecturer of the same nationality. Major Chinese media outlets have given the case prominent coverage, while online reaction in China has ranged from calls to "send him back to China for execution" to concerns about the safety of students studying abroad.
"He Was Chinese Too" — Shock and Anger Online in China
The Global Times recently published a short commentary saying that news of the Chinese female student's death in South Korea had brought deep sorrow to many Chinese people.
The newspaper said the tragedy had drawn intense attention on Chinese social media after the suspect was found to be a Chinese national, like the victim. Citing deaths of Chinese nationals abroad in recent years, it said strengthening security and safety barriers between countries had emerged as a major topic.
Interest in the case has indeed run high online in China. On the 28th, the death of the 25-year-old Chinese student, identified only by her surname, ranked among the top real-time search terms for a second day on Chinese portals including Baidu. Related posts have also proliferated on Weibo and other platforms.
Attention in China began even before the woman was found dead. After she went missing during a visit to South Korea to attend a graduation ceremony, a series of posts believed to have been written by her family appeared on Weibo. Chinese internet users followed her whereabouts and whether she was safe.
Before the suspect's identity became known, some reactions raised concerns about public safety in South Korea. As voices asked whether a woman living alone in the country had been exposed to crime, attention turned to the suspect's nationality and his relationship with the victim.
But when the suspect was identified as a 31-year-old part-time lecturer surnamed Zheng, a Chinese national like the victim, reaction in China turned to shock and anger. After reports that he had taught at the same university as the victim, criticism followed along the lines of, "How could he commit such a crime against a fellow national in a foreign country?" Controversy also arose after some Chinese media outlets incorrectly reported his nationality as South Korean.
The fact that it was the suspect who reported the woman missing to police added to the shock. According to police, he is accused of filing a false missing-person report after the killing to throw off the investigation.
"Bring Him to China and Execute Him" — Online Sleuths Expose Suspect's Details
As details of the suspect's methods emerged, calls for severe punishment grew louder online in China.
After it became known that South Korea has carried out no executions since 1997, making it a de facto abolitionist country, posts on Weibo and elsewhere argued that "South Korea has not executed anyone in nearly 30 years, so he should be sent back to China for trial," that "he should be put to death under Chinese law," and that "he could avoid the death penalty if tried in South Korea." China retains capital punishment but classifies the number of executions as a state secret and does not disclose it.
Even before South Korean police decided whether to release the suspect's identifying information, his personal details were circulating online in China. Police have identified him only by his surname, but his full name and photographs, along with his hometown and records of employment at a university and a hospital, have been shared on Chinese social media. None of these claims has been officially confirmed.
Chinese internet users' reactions were not limited to demands for harsh punishment. Alongside condolences of "may she rest in peace," related articles and social media posts also carried comments worrying about safety abroad, such as "Why go all the way to South Korea to study instead of staying in China?" "You always have to be careful about safety when you go overseas," and "I heard something happened on Jeju Island in South Korea too, and it makes me uneasy."
The Global Times likewise cited deaths of Chinese nationals abroad in recent years, saying that inter-state security and stronger safety nets for citizens overseas had emerged as an important task.
The consulate general called on South Korean police to conduct a swift and thorough investigation and to punish the suspect severely. It said it would also provide the bereaved family with the consular assistance they need.
Separately from the calls for extradition raised online in China, the case is being investigated under South Korean judicial procedures. South Korea and China have an extradition treaty, but transfer proceedings begin only if China makes a formal request through diplomatic channels. South Korea may also refuse an extradition request when all or part of the crime took place on its territory.
Dressed as the Victim to Impersonate Her — Police Continue Recovering Remains
The suspect is accused of killing the woman at his residence in Hayang, Gyeongsan, in the early hours of the 20th, then dismembering her body and dumping the remains in multiple locations.
According to police, after the killing he filed the false missing-person report to confuse the investigation, then put on the victim's clothes and took a taxi to Dongdaegu Station dressed as a woman. He is also accused of switching off her mobile phone afterward.
Gyeongsan Police Station said on the 28th that it was searching for the dismembered remains in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province, and around the Angang and Bulguksa areas of Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, based on the suspect's statements, closed-circuit television footage and vehicle dashcam recordings. Police believe the suspect discarded the victim's mobile phone.
The suspect refused a police psychopathy assessment. Police sent in two profilers on the 27th to conduct the test, but he reversed his earlier consent, according to investigators. He also retained a lawyer the same day, sources said.
Police are conducting forensic analysis of seized items including his mobile phone to examine the relationship between the two, the circumstances before and after the crime, and the possibility of additional offenses. A committee that will decide whether to disclose his identifying information, taking into account the brutality of the crime, is working to convene as early as next week.
Police plan to offer counseling and other victim-family support to the woman's relatives, who were scheduled to arrive in South Korea on the 28th. After recovering as much of the body as possible, police plan to determine the exact cause and time of death through an autopsy and to review whether additional charges, such as mutilating and abandoning a corpse, can be applied.
