It took nearly a quarter of a century, but a Flushing fugitive was tracked down in South Korea and extradited back to Queens on Friday to face charges for the 2002 murder of a Long Island man in Murray Hill.
Ho “Alex” Shin, 43, of 35th Avenue in Flushing, was arraigned on Feb. 13 in Queens Supreme Court on an indictment charging him with two counts of murder in the second degree, two counts of assault in the first degree and other related crimes for fatally stabbing 22-year-old Hyun Dae Kim in a Murray Hill apartment on 153rd Street in January 2002.
Shin is also charged with attempted murder in the second degree for allegedly stabbing another 22-year-old victim, Joon Byun, in the same apartment, who survived the attack.
According to the indictment and investigation, on Jan. 6, 2002, at approximately 4:30 a.m., the victims went to a female friend’s apartment, along with the defendant, after a night out drinking. The defendant briefly left the apartment, called his co-defendant, who was 16 at the time, and told him to bring two knives.
A short while later, Shin and his co-defendant burst into the apartment and began stabbing Hyun Dae Kim multiple times over a perceived instance of disrespect that took place earlier in the night. When the victim’s friend, Hyun Suk Yu, tried to intervene, the defendant stabbed him as well. Shin and his co-defendant immediately fled the scene.
Hyun Dae, of Barnum Street in Suffolk County, was rushed to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The second victim survived.
Investigators determined that the defendant told acquaintances that he had stabbed someone and needed to get out of town. The District Attorney’s office and the NYPD have been trying to locate the defendant ever since.
After two decades on the lam in South Korea, investigators tracked him down and arrested him on Dec. 8, 2025.
“As alleged, 24 years ago, this defendant unleashed a brutal and senseless attack inside a Flushing apartment, repeatedly stabbing two young men and taking one of their lives,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “He then almost immediately fled the country in an attempt to evade accountability. No matter how much time passes, we do not give up on our victims and their families.”
Shin was extradited to New York on Thursday, Feb. 12, and booked at the 109th Precinct in Flushing.
“Through steadfast collaboration with our federal and international law enforcement partners — including authorities in South Korea — my Extraditions Unit and Homicide Bureau located the defendant abroad and secured his return to Queens,” Katz said.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Jessica Earle-Gargan remanded Shin into custody without bail and ordered him to return to court on Feb. 17. If convicted, Shin faces 50 years to life in prison.
