Fascination in true crime is something that millions of people across the world have, but acting out on them, especially becoming a perpetrator of crime to experience what it feels like and to see how far you can actually go without being caught, if at all, is not a shared emotion in the true crime community. However, Jung Yoo-Jung, 23, decided to give it a test, when she disguised herself as a high-school student to enter the home of the tutor she killed.
A South Korean court has sentenced a true crime enthusiast to life in prison in November 2023, for murdering a stranger “out of curiosity.”
Jung Yoo-Jung, 23, was fascinated with crime shows and novels and scored high on psychopath tests, according to police. She had an obsession with “trying out a murder,” leading her to use an app to meet an English-language teacher, whom she stabbed to death in May.
This shocking crime has deeply disturbed South Korea. Prosecutors, who usually reserve the death penalty for the most severe offenses, sought it in this case.
How Did Jung Yoo-Jung Murder the Tutor?
On the phone, 23-year-old Jung Yoo-jung posed as the mother of a ninth grader needing English lessons. She arranged to meet with a female tutor in her native Busan, South Korea.
On May 26, 2023, Jung arrived at the tutor’s home wearing a school uniform. She then stabbed the woman over 100 times, dismembered her, stuffed her body parts in a suitcase, and hailed a taxi to a secluded parkland by a river north of Busan, where she dumped part of the remains. The cab driver informed authorities about a customer who had dropped a blood-soaked bag in the woods, leading to her arrest.
South Korean true crime fan Jung Yoo-jung, 23, has been sentenced to life in prison for a savage murder.
Jung was convicted of murder, desecration, and abandonment of a corpse. In November 2023, she received a life sentence. She confessed to acting out of curiosity to kill, and police noted her obsession with crime shows and novels, as reported by the BBC.
Can True Crime Obsession Be Blamed?
Experts say no, true crime obsession cannot be blamed for the violent act that Jung Yoo-Jung carried out. Behavioral scientist Coltan Scrivner told A&E True Crime that millions of true crime fans don’t murder out of curiosity. It takes additional personality traits and predispositions to commit such an act.
Described as an unemployed loner living with her grandfather, Jung spent months contacting over 50 tutors via a tutoring app, searching online for ways to conceal a body. After the brutal murder, she bought trash bags and bleach, returned to the victim’s house, and dismembered her body.
The murder had “spread terror in society that one can become a victim for no cause,” according to a Busan District Court sentencing judge, and it had “incited a general suspicion” among the populace. Jung, who admitted to the crime in June 2023, begged for a lighter sentence, claiming that at the time she had experienced hallucinations and other mental health issues. However, the act had been “well planned and carried out, and it is difficult to accept her claim of mental and physical disease,” the court rejected her plea. They observed that she had regularly modified her statements to the police.
Jung first claimed that she had moved the body only after the woman was killed by someone else, but she then stated that the killing had been the consequence of a fight. Ultimately, she admitted that TV shows and crime dramas had inspired her to want to kill someone.
Jung stabbed an innocent tutor more than 100 times, cut up her body and disposed of the remains in a suitcase
David Schmid, an expert on true crime culture, says Jung’s claim of killing out of curiosity is oversimplified. He argues that any event, especially murder, results from a complex combination of circumstances. In Jung’s case, her high psychopath test score, true crime interest, and personal background all played roles.
Scrivner developed a scale to measure morbid curiosity, which includes motives of dangerous people as a proxy for interest in true crime. He explains that understanding the minds of killers can be a protective mechanism.
Despite Jung scoring high on psychopath tests, indicating coldhearted and manipulative behavior, Scrivner notes that psychopathy, along with other preconditions, are necessary factors for murder, not just curiosity.
Clinical psychologist Rachel Toles notes that modern society often blames violent tendencies on various factors, such as the occult in the 1980s and video games in the 1990s. True crime obsession has become a similar scapegoat. Toles believes Jung would have continued killing if not caught, suggesting she fits the profile of a serial killer. She explains that serial killers are driven by a rich fantasy life, often developed from a young age rather than outside inspiration.
Jung’s actions, including contacting numerous potential victims and posing as a mother, point to a specific fantasy. Her trial revealed feelings of resentment and anger toward her family, coupled with helplessness from repeated failures.
Jung begged for leniency, claiming that she had suffered from hallucinations and mental health disorders.
Toles highlights that serial killers often keep “trophies” from their victims. Jung’s immediate confession contrasts with some killers who never admit their crimes, yet she consistently deflected responsibility.
Jung’s obsession with true crime may have influenced her actions; experts emphasize that multiple factors, including her psychological profile and personal circumstances, contributed to the murder.
Though South Korea still has the death penalty, no executions have occurred since 1997.
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