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News.com.au
29-05-2025
- General
- News.com.au
Taekwondo instructor's shocking lies revealed after he pleads guilty to triple murder
WARNING: Confronting content A taekwondo instructor who confessed to a shocking triple murder in western Sydney had an obsession with luxury items and told grandiose lies in the lead-up to the killing of a couple and a seven-year-old boy, according to court documents. Kwang Kyung Yoo, 51, on Thursday pleaded guilty to murdering Min Cho, 41, and a seven-year-old child at his North Parramatta taekwondo studio as well as Ms Cho's husband, Steven Cho, 39, at his Baulkham Hills home on February 19 last year. A statement of agreed facts tendered to the Parramatta Local Court do not state Yoo's motivation for the horrific murders; however, they do reveal that in the lead-up he lied to his wife that he was being given a BMW as a work car and instead took Ms Cho's BMW X5 after killing her. He was also obsessed with wealth and had told lies about his academic credentials and having competed at the Olympics. Yoo ran the Lion's Taekwondo and Martial Arts Academy at North Parramatta and was known to his students as 'Master Lion'. According to court documents, in January last year, he lied to his wife when he told her that a primary school – where he had a part-time job – was giving him a BMW as a work car. In the 11 days leading up to the horrific murders, Yoo was captured on CCTV driving into the complex where the Yoo family lived in his grey Toyota Camry on five occasions The court was told that about 6.22pm on February 19, after the other parents and students had left his taekwondo studio, Yoo strangled Ms Cho in a storeroom before dragging her body into the office. Later that evening he was captured on CCTV taking Ms Cho's car keys before he later called his wife to say his new BMW had arrived. 'The car has arrived,' he told her during a brief phone call. He then killed the seven-year-old boy in the storeroom by strangling him. At 8.48pm he drove Ms Cho's BMW X5 away from the scene to her Baulkham Hills townhouse where he broke in. At 9.18pm, Mr Cho returned home where he was stabbed to death by Yoo with blows to the head, neck and chest. Mr Cho stabbed Yoo in self-defence but was killed in the altercation. Yoo returned to his studio and called his wife, saying: 'I've been stabbed with a knife.' He drove to Westmead Hospital where he was treated for a collapsed lung and multiple stab wounds. He claimed to police that he had been stabbed by three people in the carpark of a North Parramatta Woolworths; however, officers quickly established that was a lie after viewing CCTV footage. Police searched Ms Cho's BMW, which Yoo had driven to hospital, and found traces of blood inside. Mr Cho's body was discovered the next day when friends became concerned and went to the couple's home. Police then went to the Lion's Taekwondo and Martial Arts Academy where they noticed blood on the front steps before the bodies of Ms Cho and the boy were found inside. 'During the investigation, police obtained evidence that suggested that the offender (Yoo) had interests in luxury items, social status and wealth,' the court documents state. Police found evidence of him inspecting properties and falsely telling agents that he was acting on behalf of his wealthy employer or his parents who had a budget of up to $50m. He showed the mother of one of his students a picture that he falsely claimed was taken from his home with Harbour Bridge views. He had further lied about owning property in Sydney's eastern suburbs and luxury cars and that he holidayed in New York and California. He also bizarrely told his wife that he was receiving emails from a wealthy woman in a high position, according to the court documents. Yoo also told people, including his wife and sister, that he had a master's degree and PHD from Macquarie University and Sydney University; however, both institutions had no record of him. He was also found to have lied about competing in taekwondo at the 2000 Olympics.
Daily Mail
29-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Chilling new details emerge about how a Taekwondo instructor strangled one of his students to death and killed the boy's parents - as his twisted past as a 'status-obsessed, serial liar' comes to light
A taekwondo instructor has admitted to killing his seven-year-old student and the boy's parents as his disturbing history as a status-obsessed serial liar was laid bare in court. Kyung Kwang Yoo pleaded guilty to three counts of murder at Parramatta Local Court in Sydney 's west on Thursday via video link. Disturbing court documents have pulled back the curtain on the night Yoo, who was known by his students as 'Master Lion', killed the boy, his mother Min Kyung 'Sue' Cho - 41, and his father Hyun Soo 'Steven' Cho - 39. On February 19, 2024, the boy arrived at Lion's Taekwondo Martial Arts Academy in North Parramatta at about 4.30pm for his regular Monday night lessons. He had been a student at the academy for three years and was taking double classes with Yoo to prepare for his upcoming black belt assessment. Ms Choo was seen arriving the academy about 6.20pm and spoke to Yoo while her son waited in a reception area, the Sydney Morning Herald reported. CCTV captured the mother following Yoo through a classroom and into a storeroom. He strangled her to death inside. When his classes ended at 8pm, Yoo asked the boy to follow him into the same storeroom, where the child was also strangled to death. Case facts state that after killing her and her son, Yoo took Ms Cho's BMW and drove to her family home in nearby Baulkham Hills. There he found Mr Cho and repeatedly stabbed him in the head, neck and torso with a knife and a pair of scissors. Mr Cho attempted to fight off Yoo and inflicted several stab wounds on the taekwondo instructor in self defence. At about 11pm, Yoo returned to the taekwondo academy to retrieve his phone and Ms Cho's Apple Watch. He then called his wife and told her he'd been stabbed. The pair decided to meet at a hospital. While at the hospital, Yoo told police he'd been attacked by three people at a Woolworths car park and had driven his Toyota Camry to the hospital. No motive for the triple homicide has been confirmed, however a disturbing trend has emerged of Yoo lying about his success, wealth and social status. One of his lies included being the owner of a BMW. Weeks before the gruesome murders, Yoo told his wife he would be receiving a BMW from his secondary employer, a local high school. At about 8pm on the night of the murders, Yoo called his wife to say his BMW had arrived. Soon after that conversation he drove Ms Cho's BMW to the Cho's family home. Court documents state Yoo's wife told police he'd driven a friend's BMW that night, which led officers to search the vehicle and discover blood. Police also found documents for the sale of a multimillion-dollar home in Mosman, papers in the name of 'Professor Kwang Yoo' and a false master's degree from Sydney University. Detectives claimed Yoo was known to lie to his friends and family about his income, education and family deaths and had an 'obsession' with luxury goods. His deceptions included telling his family his home had a view of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and he owned a Lamborghini. Yoo also told his wife and sister he had a PhD and others that he'd competed in the Olympics. Other associates of Yoo believed both his parents and his wife had died from Covid. Friends of the Cho family became concerned on the morning of February 20, 2024, and headed to their home. They called police after spotting an object covered by a blanket. Officers found Mr Cho's body in the home and headed to Lion's Taekwondo Academy, where blood was found on the building's front step and interior. The boy's body was found in the storeroom while Ms Cho's body was discovered in an office. Yoo was arrested at the hospital that evening and has been in custody since. He will be sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court later this year. The case will next be mentioned on August 1.
