Deputy editor at hit Japanese comic indicted for murdering wife
Prosecutors on Tuesday indicted the deputy editor of a hit comic magazine on charges of murdering his wife.
Pak Jong Hyon, 41, deputy editor of major publisher Kodansha’s Morning magazine, was arrested on January 10 for allegedly strangling his 38-year-old wife Kanako to death at their home in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward around August 9.
Pak has told police that he did not kill the wife, according to investigators. Pak joined Kodansha in April 1999 after graduating from Kyoto University’s Faculty of Law and was involved in launching the comic Bessatsu Shonen Magazine which produced popular series such as Attack on Titan.
At the time of his arrest, he was the deputy editor of Morning magazine which carries hits such as Space Brothers and Cooking Papa and was considered a future chief editor, according to a publisher source. “We take the indictment of our employee very seriously,” the publisher said in a statement. “Since he maintains his innocence, we would like to see the progress of the trial and handle the matter cautiously.”
