Korean man 'strangled, stripped, buried'

A South Korean national was strangled to death, stripped naked and buried in a shallow backyard grave after seeking out a currency exchange online, a Brisbane court has been told.

But the man accused of his murder later told police he hoped, as a fellow Korean, that nothing sinister had taken place, a Supreme Court jury heard.

Sanghyun Hwang, 31, pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to interference with a corpse on the first day of his trial on Monday.

The body of Min Tae Kim, 28, was found in a shallow grave at the back of an Algester property in December 2013.

In his opening address, crown prosecutor Todd Fuller said Mr Kim was making plans to return to Korea at the time and had made money by selling his car.

His body was later found - naked, with his hands behind his back and a cord around his neck - in a grave at the back of the south Brisbane property.

In a videotaped interview shown to the court, Hwang told a translating policeman he didn't know Mr Kim but hoped nothing bad had happened to him "as a Korean".

He suggested Mr Kim may have simply been taking some "alone time" or been the victim of a racist attack.

But when he was interviewed again later, Mr Fuller said Hwang admitted to police he had unintentionally killed Mr Kim.

"He said his intention was just to threaten Mr Kim and steal his money," Mr Fuller said, telling the jury he was killed for between $10,000 and $12,000.

The court heard Hwang approached Mr Kim from behind and wrapped his gloved hands around his neck and the pair struggled. Later, he realised the man was dead.

The "real issue" for the jury would be determining if Hwang had meant to kill Mr Kim or if he'd committed an act likely to endanger human life while trying to rob him, Mr Fuller said.

Mr Kim's former housemate, Sungwon Hwang, said he'd warned the deceased man not to carry out the "person to person" currency exchange.

"(He said) I agree with you, I will tell him," Mr Hwang recalled.

"But he never came back."

The trial before Justice Martin Daubney continues.