He was South Korea’s most notorious sex offender.
SBS‘s popular crime show, A Story About The Day, recently aired an episode about “Balbari,” the most notorious serial rapist of South Korea.
The June 5 episode of the show revealed the most horrific crimes committed by Lee Joong Gu, infamously nicknamed “Balbari,” who had a staggering 184 recorded victims. The episode’s guest, singer Kang Daniel, was seen visibly disturbed as he listened to the cases.
Balbari’s crimes reportedly began in 1999, in the Daejeon area, and left South Korea shell-shocked with its unimaginable cruelty. Over the course of approximately eight years, Lee assaulted multiple women in a day, often involving several victims at once. The victims ranged from teenagers to women in their 40s.
There were even some cases where Lee forced his victims to lure their friends and assaulted them, leaving them with lifelong trauma and guilt. His crimes were so heinous that the entire police force was determined to capture him at whatever cost.
While hearing about his cases, a visibly perturbed Kang Daniel remarked, “I feel like throwing up,” adding, “He doesn’t even sound like a human.”
The episode showed how Lee fooled people with his double life, pretending to be a family man with children. It also covered the sustained effort the police made for years to catch him and bring him to justice. However, in the meantime, he left a horrific trail of crimes from Daejeon to Cheongju.
Lee was finally caught in 2006, when he was 45 years old. He had reportedly resisted arrest for a brief moment before surrendering meekly while saying that he was “relieved” that he got caught.
A Story About The Day‘s episode on Lee’s crimes has triggered strong reactions from not only the guests like Kang Daniel but also the viewers, who are left questioning whether any legal punishment would be proprotionate enough for his crimes.