A man accused of killing his wife and their two teenage sons arrives at a court in Ansan, south of Seoul, on Oct. 28 to attend his arrest warrant hearing. Yonhap

A court on Friday approved an arrest warrant for a fortysomething man detained earlier this week for allegedly killing his wife and their two teenage sons at their home in Gwangmyeong, just south of Seoul.

The Ansan branch of the Suwon District Court said the suspect needs to be put under formal arrest, because there is fear he may flee due to the seriousness of the crime.

The suspect, whose identity was withheld, was put under emergency apprehension Wednesday on suspicion of fatally stabbing his wife in her 40s and two sons ― one a middle schooler and the other an elementary school student ― at their apartment in the Gyeonggi Province city around 8 p.m. the previous day.

He admitted to the crime on his way to attend his arrest warrant hearing at the same court by saying to reporters, "It's true that I committed a wrongdoing." But he also talked gibberish about the motive of his crime, apparently putting the blame on the victims.

The suspect reportedly told police he committed the murders due to domestic conflict.

The suspect is said to have been jobless after resigning from his company about a year ago due to a chronic illness. Recently, the man and his wife had had frequent marital quarrels over economic and other matters, according to police and neighbors. (Yonhap)