The news of that day has passed, but its meaning remains with us today. "That Day, Today" reads the present through the records of the past. — Editor's note
In the early hours of Sept. 24, 2015, a woman preparing for her wedding was stabbed to death at a house in Gongneung-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul, by an active-duty soldier who had broken in. The homeowner wrested the knife away and fought back, and the intruder died at the scene. It was ruled self-defense, but the homeowner spent more than two years under suspicion of murder.
Chang, then a 20-year-old corporal who had been drinking with friends until 4 a.m., wandered the residential streets of Gongneung-dong heavily intoxicated. Around 5 a.m., he smashed a window and tried to climb into a house, but was spotted by the owner and fled. Twenty minutes later, he tried to open the front door of another house and was again chased off.
Chang moved on to a third house. This time it was the home of Yang Seok-ju, then 36. He took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed to death Yang's fiancee, Park, then 33, as she slept in the master bedroom. Woken by her screams, Yang grappled with Chang and took the knife from him. Chang lunged to grab the knife back, and in the struggle his lung was pierced. He died at the scene.
More Than Two Years Under Suspicion, Then a Finding of Self-Defense
DNA and bloodstain analysis proved decisive in the self-defense finding. Chang's DNA was recovered from Park's fingernails and from the knife, and identical trace fiber evidence was found on the hands of both Park and Chang. Yang's DNA, by contrast, was not found on Park's hands.
The bloodstain pattern in the master bedroom showed signs that Park had fought back hard against the intruder, and emergency call records also included an account of Park screaming after Chang broke in. In polygraph testing, all of Yang's statements registered as truthful.
On that basis, police concluded in December 2016 that Yang had acted in self-defense and referred the case to prosecutors with a recommendation not to indict. Prosecutors, however, took nearly two years to reach a conclusion. In September 2017, all 23 members of a prosecution citizens' committee recommended against indictment, and in October that year prosecutors made a final decision not to indict, finding no crime had been committed.
Over those two years, Yang endured being suspected of murder amid reports by some media outlets raising questions about the case. He filed criminal and civil suits against news organizations including SBS (034120), but lost on all counts as the criminal complaints were dropped and the civil claims dismissed.
Appearing on tvN's "I Really Wanted to Say This" in November 2024, Yang said he had felt wronged. It had been nine years spent having lost his fiancee and carrying the suspicion of murder.
