While the unsolved murder case of Yang-koo Yoon, a Korean American who was killed in Baltimore at the age of 46, is being re-investigated after 27 years, it was discovered that a series of robberies targeting Korean Americans had occurred in the area at the time of the incident.
On January 21, 1997, Yoon, the owner of Selma Liquors, was shot and killed during a struggle with robbers who had broken into his store.
News reports from that period show that three other Korean Americans were either killed or injured in similar robberies in the same week Yoon was murdered.
On January 20, the day before Yoon’s murder, two masked men entered New Guilford Liquor Store in Baltimore and shot at a Korean employee, who fortunately avoided the bullet. The suspects fled without taking any money.
On January 23 in that year, Won-hee Ma, 58, was robbed and shot in the chest at her grocery store near East 22nd Street and Boone Street, but she survived.
Four days later, on January 27, Chi-sup kim, 44, was shot twice in the back and killed by robbers at his grocery store in West Baltimore. Despite complying with their demands and handing over several hundred dollars, Kim was brutally murdered, shocking the Korean community.
Some suggest that a prior incident, the Joel Lee case in 1993, may have sparked these crimes.
Composite sketch of the suspect in Yoon’s case [Baltimore County Police]
The suspect, Devon Neverdon, a 20-year-old African American man, was tried in July 1995 for first-degree murder, robbery, and use of a deadly weapon. However, the jury, composed of 11 African Americans out of 12 members, acquitted Neverdon, citing doubts about the credibility of witnesses and lack of physical evidence.
Following the trial, Lee’s family requested the U.S. Department of Justice to review the case under federal civil rights laws. After an 18-month investigation, authorities concluded in January 1997 that there was insufficient evidence to meet the high standard required for federal hate crime charges, resulting in the case being closed with Neverdon’s acquittal.
Coincidentally, a series of armed robberies at Korean-owned stores in Baltimore occurred within two weeks of the federal decision.
Joel Lee’s father remarked, “The federal decision signaled that crimes against Koreans could go unpunished,” and added, “Shop owners are being targeted simply because they are Korean.””
On July 18, ABC News reported on Yang-koo Yoon’s case, stating that anyone with information about this case may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000 from the Baltimore County Police.
BY YOONJAE JUNG, YOUNGNAM KIM [jung.yoonjae@koreadaily.com]
