It was reported on Nov. 22 that Shin attempted to commit suicide in his cell in Daejeon Prison at around 8 p.m. on Nov. 21 and was found by a prison employee on duty and immediately taken to a hospital. A Justice Ministry official said, “Thanks to the staff’s quick response, Mr. Shin’s life is unharmed,” adding, “We are investigating the reasons for his attempted suicide.”
Shin broke into a family home in Donam-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, in March 1989 and stabbed the homeowner to death after taking more than 30 million won in cash, and was arrested in September of the same year. He was sentenced to life imprisonment for robbery and manslaughter and served time at Seoul Detention Center, North Gyeongsang Province Prison, and Busan Prison.
He escaped from Busan Prison in 1997 after serving eight years. Using a small piece of hacksaw blade from his prison labor job, he sawed off the bars of a toilet for 20 minutes a day for four months먹튀검증, climbed down a ventilation shaft on the outside of the building, and escaped over the prison fence with a rope he had picked up from a new construction site.
Shin Chang-won at the time of his arrest in July 1999. The rainbow T-shirt he wore was popular at the time. /Joseon Ilbo DB
It took two and a half years for the police to recapture him. It has been estimated that Shin traveled a total of 40,000 kilometers during this time. He was nicknamed the “Rare Escapee” because he repeatedly evaded the police. Internet fan cafes were established for the first time for a criminal, and some people hailed him as a “hero” as stories spread that he only entered rich people’s houses and stole from them. However, when he was arrested in July 1999, he was sentenced to 22 years and 6 months, and the “Shin Changwon Syndrome” came to an end. The rainbow shirt he wore when he was arrested became fashionable.
This was not the first time he prayed for his own life. On August 18, 2011, while incarcerated in North Gyeongsang Province Prison, he also attempted the extreme option. A prison guard on patrol found him moaning as he strangled himself with a rubber glove around 4 a.m. and took him to a nearby hospital. As media reports followed, public attention focused on why the man had taken such an extreme step after 12 years of incarceration following his escape and re-arrest. At the time, the prison explained, “It appears that he was mentally traumatized after the recent death of his father.”
However, online reactions continued to be mixed, with some saying, “It’s understandable that he wanted to end his life because he couldn’t cope with the trauma of his father’s death, but it’s strange that he didn’t leave a suicide note.” On the other hand, there were also cynical responses such as “Praying suicide with a rubber glove? Isn’t it another trick to escape from the hospital?” and “Escaping in a doctor’s coat?”.