Robbers Kill Nightclub Owner Outside Home

The owner of a popular Koreatown nightclub who routinely arrived home in the early morning with thousands of dollars in cash receipts was shot to death as he pulled into his garage early Friday, police said.

Eun Sung Lee, 40, was shot repeatedly in the upper body as he got out of his car just before 2:30 a.m., police said. His wife, who was with him, was unhurt.

LAPD spokesman Lt. Anthony Alba said the killers took an undisclosed amount of cash. But he said investigators are exploring the possibility that robbery wasn’t the only motive. He would not elaborate.

It was customary for Lee to bring home large amounts of money, according to a private security firm hired by the Lees.

On Jan. 17, the Lees were robbed of $20,000 in valuables, some of which was cash, as they arrived home, said Jennifer Sanchez, a spokeswoman for Westec Residential Securities. Lee had chased the robbers into the street and fired several shots, Sanchez said.

After that, Lee had ordered regular armed escorts from Westec when returning home. He would telephone the company before leaving work, and an officer would meet him at the home in the 2500 block of North Vermont Avenue, Sanchez said.

On Friday, Westec Securities received a call from Lee’s wife for an officer to meet them at 2:30 a.m., Sanchez said. But Lee arrived early and decided not to wait for the guard, who arrived four minutes later, she said.

The officer saw a man run across the street and get into the passenger side of a small red car, which sped off, Sanchez said.

The officer called for LAPD backup. By then, Lee’s wife had emerged from the garage, screaming for help.

Police and paramedics arrived at 2:31 a.m. and found Lee’s body.

On Feb. 10, the Police Department’s organized crime and vice unit and other law enforcement agencies searched several businesses and homes, including the Lees’, as part of an ongoing investigation.

LAPD Cmdr. David Kalish said the department will not disclose the purpose of the investigation, but law enforcement sources confirmed that during the raid, $5.7 million was seized from the home of Lee’s business partner and brother-in-law, Johnny Koo. No one was arrested, and that investigation is continuing, police said.

According to police, Koo and Lee own the Velfarre nightclub at Wilshire Boulevard and Serrano Avenue. But Lee’s brother-in-law, James Park, said the Velfarre is owned by Koo and Lee’s wife. The Velfarre, formerly called Saga, is a popular nightspot for young Korean Americans.

The club, and another that had been owned by Koo, are well known among police officers and nightclub-goers as the sites of two shootings. The first occurred in 1994 at the Saga; the second, in 1995 at the Aikan four blocks away, left one suspected gang member dead and three wounded.

Lee, a martial arts expert, had emigrated from South Korea nine years ago. He lived in the neighborhood of stately houses just south of Griffith Park with his wife, mother and two children.