Records/Hosan Times
Translation
| “ | CONVICTED MURDERER KANGJAE MA BREAKS OUT OF PRISON | ” |
Twenty-four prison officers and inmates die
CCTV cameras at the scene were found with tape recordings missing, casting suspicion on administration.
By Yuchun Kim | Hosan
A riot broke out in Taego Hosan Prison around 4 p.m. on the 21st, resulting in the deaths of 22 inmates and two prison officers. Convicted murderer Kangjae Ma (sentenced to death) escaped from prison during the tumult. He had been confined in room 25 on the 1st floor of building 2 of the prison complex.
Prosecution and police have set up a joint investigation unit to apprehend Ma. The unit has dispatched over 300 agents to main traffic thoroughfares, the escapee’s hometown, and 96 other checkpoints in likely escape routes, including express bus terminals.
- A savage riot
On the 21st, dozens of inmates broke out of their cells and instigated a prison riot, Hosan Prison reports. The riot allegedly turned into an all-out brawl, during which Ma is suspected to have made his escape. Two prison officers and 22 inmates died during the uproar. The investigation unit is currently verifying a claim from a number of inmates that most of the victims were killed by Ma. One of the officers was found with a 9mm bullet wound to the chest, which is presumed to have been fired from the pistol the officer had been carrying. The weapon has not been found on site. Investigators consider it likely that Ma is still armed with it.
- Signs of unrest
The investigation unit seems keen to keep the details of the incident close to their chest, declining to comment directly on what caused the riot at Hosan Prison. The unit states that it has yet to confirm how the inmates escaped their cells or why they decided to break out at once.
In an interview, an inmate who wished to remain anonymous claimed that just before the riot, a rumor spread throughout the prison that Viper Gang leader Taechul Yun put a significant bounty on Ma’s head “to avenge his son’s death,” leading to "extreme hostility toward Ma." The inmate further stated that on the 20th―the eve of the riot―Ma was waived from labor and training activities "for no reason," and that several officers "forced him into a straitjacket" before transferring him to the storage room.
Another inmate who wished to remain anonymous claimed he saw an officer hand over the storage room key to an inmate on the night of the 20th. Both the officer and inmate in question died during the riot. The prison office work schedule we exclusively obtained showed that the shifts for the 21st―when the riot took place―were changed on very short notice. Further interviews revealed that this is rare, suggesting that some officers may have known about the riot in advance and chose to overlook it.
Questioning of the prison staff revealed that altercations between violent inmates "to establish a pecking order" was common in prisons, and that "Ma’s isolation on the 20th was part of [the prison’s] standard protocol for preventing larger conflicts." Prison staff dismissed all further questions about Ma’s bounty or the possible involvement of an officer.
- Missing security camera tape
Despite several state-of-the-art closed-circuit televisions (CCTVs) being installed in the prison, the investigation unit found no tape recordings of the events of the riot. Prison staff gave no comment on the whereabouts of the missing tapes. Further investigation will examine the prison’s leadership and officers for possible negligence.
Kangjae Ma: convicted murderer now at large
In August 1982, Ma planted a bomb on Viper Gang leader Taechul Yun’s car on behalf of another gang. The explosion killed Yun’s son Jaehyeon Yun; Ma went on to kill and hide the body of seven more Viper Gang members before the police apprehended him. The series of grotesque murders―committed in places such as a massage parlor and an upscale hotel―shocked the public. In January 1983, Ma was sentenced to death.
Born in Yangchang-gu, Seoul, Ma grew up peddling the slums near the Seongnam Branch of Gyeonggi-do (present-day Seongnam City). At age 15, he was sent to a juvenile detention center after being charged with assault against civilians and police officers during the Gwangju Complex Incident. By the time he was released, the government had demolished the slums he once called home. Perhaps as a consequence, he continued his life as a criminal and wandered the country.
In January 1981, while on the run from rival gang members in Songang-gun, Gangwon-do, he knocked out coast guards who were engaging North Korean commandos. "Back then, there were so many commandos running around; it would’ve done me no good trying to explain myself. So I just kicked their asses and got out of there," Ma once explained. He later went on to say that while in hiding he survived the cold winter sea by retaining his body heat through diaphragmatic breathing.