A taekwondo master has been charged with three counts of murder over the deaths of a woman, her estranged husband and a seven-year-old boy in western Sydney.
Police charged Kwang Kyung Yoo, 49 with the alleged triple murder of Min Cho, 41, her husband Steven, 39, and a seven-year-old boy at Westmead Hospital on Wednesday night.
He remains in hospital under police guard in hospital and will face a bedside hearing on Thursday.
The charges were laid almost 48 hours after Yoo presented to Westmead Hospital late Monday night suffering apparent stab wounds to his chest, arms and stomach.
Police will allege he strangled Ms Cho and the boy at his North Parramatta taekwondo centre after classes ended on Monday night before fatally stabbing her estranged husband at the couple’s Baulkham Hills home.
Yoo underwent surgery on Tuesday before he was arrested later that night.
Shocked parents have since revealed how the taekwondo master seemed completely normal and calm as he cheered on students just hours before he allegedly slaughtered an entire family.
Yoo who owns Lion’s Taekwondo and is also known as Master Lion, ran classes at his martial arts studio on Monday night, just as he has every week for several years.
A Taekwondo master and university professor, Kwang Kyung Yoo (pictured), has been arrested under suspicion of an alleged triple murder hours after one he gave of his students a green belt
A mother, who wished to remain anonymous and whose son was in one of the last classes he ran that night, said she was astonished to learn about the allegations.
‘Master Lion gave my son his green belt and certificate around 4.30pm on Monday,’ she said.
‘He hugged my son and gave him words of encouragement about coming to class consistently.
The mother said her son has been attending the taekwondo centre three times a week for the past year.
During that time, Master Yoo has been nothing but a great role model for the kids, she said.
He would pick a group of children up from a local school after class and walk them to the studio for training and also held school holiday programs.
‘He was really good with children,’ she said.
‘During the holidays, he would run programs from 9.30am to 2.30pm.
‘The kids would run around, play with nerf guns, burn off some energy, it was great.’
The mother said the only bizarre thing she noticed was he gave the children the impression he lived a lavish lifestyle.
She said her son believed he owned a Ferrari after Master Yoo had shown the kids pictures of him alongside luxury cars and holidaying in a mansion with a pool.
However, neighbours have told Daily Mail Australia Yoo drives a Toyota Camry.
Yoo was treated at a hospital for numerous injuries but was later arrested and charged with the alleged murder of of Min Cho, 41, her husband Steven, 39, (both pictured) and a boy, 7
Police will allege Yoo, known as ‘Master Lion’, fatally assaulted Ms Cho and the boy at his taekwondo studio (pictured) in on Monday night
Just hours prior, Yoo was teaching Taekwondo at the same studio and awarded a six-year-old student his green belt and ‘hugged him’
The mother said Master Yoo (pictured) had been nothing but a great role model for the kids and would walk them to classes from their homes
He captioned the video: ‘Congratulations Master Lion for your new carrier [sic]’, triggering a series of comments from friends congratulating him. He also changed his job title to ‘Senior Professor at Macquarie University’.
But the university says it has no record of him and the ‘contract’ appears to be a doctored entry form for someone to be nominated for the university’s Award of Distinguished Professor, which is only open to existing professors at Macquarie.
‘There is no record of any appointment of Kwang Kyung Yoo, nor Lion Yoo, to a position at Macquarie University,’ a university spokesman confirmed.
Yoo also claimed to have competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, something which was flatly denied by Australian Taekwondo.
The mother said Master Yoo had not disclosed his profession to students’ parents, but they believed he must have had a day job as the studio does not open until 3pm.
It remains unclear whether Yoo was employed outside of his taekwondo business.
Police will allege Yoo strangled Ms Cho and the boy sometime between 5.30pm and 6.30pm before driving her white BMW X5 to her home in Baulkham Hills.
Yoo is accused of then fatally stabbing her husband during an ‘altercation’ at the home.
Around 11.50pm, he then allegedly drove to Sydney’s Westmead Hospital covered in blood, where he was treated for knife wounds to his chest, arms and stomach.
Police discovered Mr Cho’s body on Tuesday morning after receiving a concern for welfare report.
The mother also said that Yoo (pictured) gave the children the impression that he lived a lavish lifestyle and owned luxury cars despite neighbours saying he drove a Camry
Further inquiries led them to the taekwando studio, where the woman and boy were found around midday
Friends of the alleged victims have broken their silence as tributes begin to flow for the Chos and the little boy.
One friend, who is currently overseas, told Daily Mail Australia she was ‘heartbroken’ and ‘shocked’ to hear of the trio’s deaths.
Another friend, Ruebert Tandog, said he knew Mr Cho for 12 years after they met while working together at a construction company.
He described Mr Cho as intelligent and a proud father.
‘He was a gentleman. Easy to talk to,’ Mr Tandog said.
‘He has always come across as a straight shooter.’
Mr Tandog said Mr Cho doted on his son, with his social media filled with pictures of them spending time together.
‘Our conversations would always start off with what the kids were doing,’ he said.
Police were led to the Taekwondo studio after discovering Mr Cho’s body at a home in North Parramatta where they allege Yoo strangled Ms Cho and the boy (pictured, police at the scene)
Mr Tandog said the little boy ‘loved martial arts’ and had been studying the sport for at least two years.
Detectives were seen scouring the neighbourhood around Yoo’s home in North Kellyville, in Sydney’s north-west, as the investigation into the tragedy continued on Wednesday.
A shocked neighbour said Yoo, his wife and their children – a girl, 12, and boy, 8 – seemed like a ‘normal family’.
The last time he saw Yoo was on Saturday when the Taekwondo master was outside mowing his lawn.
‘They are very quiet, but very nice,’ he said. ‘He seemed quiet and usually kept to himself.
‘But overall, there was no noise, no fighting, nothing.’
As investigations continue, anyone with information is urged to contact police.
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