▲ Seoul Northern District Court
A man in his 30s charged with murdering a cohabiting acquaintance and abandoning the body has been sentenced to 27 years in prison in his first trial.
The 14th Criminal Division of the Seoul Northern District Court (Presiding Judge Oh Byeong-hee) sentenced 34-year-old Sung, who was indicted and detained on charges including murder, corpse abandonment, and assault, to 27 years in prison today (the 23rd), along with a 15-year period of wearing a location-tracking electronic device.
The court stated, "The nature of the crime is extremely grave as he indiscriminately beat the victim, who was a friend, and strangled him to death," adding, "It is likely that the victim met his end amidst extreme suffering."
The court further rebuked, "He even abandoned the body in the Namhan River after the crime, leaving the bereaved family to suffer indescribable agony without even being able to hold a funeral," and noted, "Nevertheless, he attempted to flee abroad to conceal the crime, making severe punishment commensurate with his culpability necessary."
The court also rejected Sung's claim that he had no intent to commit murder.
It pointed out that Sung beat the victim despite his poor physical condition and could have sufficiently foreseen that strangulation could lead to death.
During the previous sentencing hearing, prosecutors had demanded life imprisonment and requested a 20-year order for the attachment of an electronic device.
Sung is accused of strangling to death a man in his 30s surnamed Lee, who lived with him in an apartment in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, on January 14, after Lee demanded money for motorcycle fuel, and then abandoning the body at Dumulmeuri on the Namhan River in Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province.
Prosecutors concluded that Sung treated the victim, who had difficulties with social adjustment, as a target for venting his anger and routinely subjected him to assault and intimidation.
Following the trial, prosecutors emphasized, "Through direct supplementary investigations, we clearly established the intent to murder."
Initially, Sung had claimed, "I only briefly wrapped my arm around his neck and had no intention to kill."
Prosecutors explained that they proved Sung's intent to murder through supplementary investigations, including search and seizure operations and a comprehensive analysis of call records.
Prosecutors stated, "We will make every effort to ensure that Sung receives a sentence commensurate with the gravity of his crimes even in the appellate trial."
(Photo: Capture from Yonhap News TV, Yonhap News)
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