Missing S. Korean intelligence agent found dead in his car

Yongin Seoubu Police Station. Yonhap via The Korea Herald

SEOUL — An active officer at the National Intelligence Service was found dead Sunday inside his car, which was parked at a vacant lot near his home.

According to a police station in western Yongin, a city located south of Seoul in Gyeonggi Province, the body of the missing NIS agent, 43, was found at 1:25 p.m. Sunday, nine hours after his family reported his disappearance.

The police also found at his home a three-page document that appeared to be his will. The contents remain confidential, but the officer in charge said the document contained “nothing related to work.”

“It’s been confirmed he works with the NIS, but the NIS won’t release any further information such as which specific department he worked in,” the police added.

A briquette used to light fires, made of sawdust and other flammable materials, was discovered inside the car. Considering that, a detective from the Yongin Seobu Police Station who spoke to The Korea Herald on Monday morning said police were approaching the case “from multiple angles, considering all possibilities — including suicide.”

The police said they planned to file an autopsy request with the National Forensic Service.