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| Paul Laan is a suspect in a missing-person case in Canada. / Captured from CBC |
By Chyung Eun-ju
A former professor at a Seoul-based university is a suspect in a mysterious missing-person case in Canada, according to South Korean broadcaster JTBC.
Canadian Paul Laan taught English at Sahmyook University in Nowon, northern Seoul, from 2014. The university stripped him of his professorship early this month after learning of the accusations in Canada and then terminated his contract.
According to the report, Laan came to Korea in 2006 and earned a living by teaching English at private or public institutes.
According to JTBC and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), he was a suspect in a high-profile missing-person case in Ontario in 1998. A woman in her 70s, known as the "Cat Lady," was a tenant in his house and disappeared outside Huntsville. Police later found that three other tenants were missing.
Police investigating the case saw Laan as a suspect but they found no evidence, and it became a cold case.
CBC put the case back in the spotlight on its investigative program "The Fifth Estate," aired in September.
The program said the residents' disappearance was not reported and that pension checks were stolen from them by the Paul family. The youngest of the family was living in South Korea as a professor, according to the program.
"Paul now teaches English at a university in South Korea and travels with his wife extensively, professing their love for God on their family blog," CBC reported.
It is not known if Canadian police will reopen the case and seek his repatriation.
The Korea Times contacted the university, the justice ministry and immigration office for comment and if there was any cooperation request from Canada. There was no immediate reply.
