Chinese graduate student in Korea found dead after going missing, man arrested on suspicion of murder

Five days after going missing, a Chinese international student was found dead in South Korea, in the residence of a man, another Chinese national.

The man was the first person who had reported her missing, telling the authorities he was her boyfriend,  The Korea Herald reported.

Following her death, the local police arrested the man on suspicion of murder.

Lost contact with family

The student, a woman in her 20s, was enrolled in a rehabilitation therapy programme at a graduate school in Gyeongsan city, The Korea Herald reported.

She had gone home to China to spend the holidays with her family, then returned to Gyeongsan on Aug. 14 to attend her graduation ceremony.

The night of the ceremony was the last time her family heard from her.

The next day, she was reported missing by the suspect.

He told the police she had said she was heading to Daegu, a nearby city, then stopped responding to messages.

On Aug. 19, the woman was found dead in the suspect's house in Gyeongsan.

Investigations

Analysing the woman's phone location data, the police found that she had visited two places the day she disappeared: a convenience store near her graduate school, and the vicinity of a railway station in Daegu.

After the police questioned the suspect, they detected inconsistencies in his account.

This prompted them to arrest him on Aug. 26, and start investigating the case as a potential homicide.

People close to the victim said that she and the suspect were acquaintances, according to The Korea Times.

The police will be conducting an autopsy on the woman's body to determine the exact cause and time of death.

The Chinese consulate responds

The Chinese Consulate General in Busan, South Korea, has called for severe punishment of the suspect, Korea JoongAng Daily cited Xinhua News Agency reporting.

The consulate released a statement on Aug. 26 about the man's arrest, and called on the Korean police to conduct a thorough investigation and severely punish the perpetrator.

It also said it would provide consular assistance to the victim's family in handling matters following her death.