Today (September 29), one day ahead of the first-trial sentencing for Jang Yoon-gi, the mother of the late Lee Chae-won held a one-person protest in front of the court.
The placard read, "Answer with the death penalty for the murderer Jang Yoon-gi."
Chae-won's mother stated that if Jang is sentenced to life imprisonment, he could potentially be paroled someday, and called for the death penalty to ensure he can never return to society.
The bereaved family is pleading, "Hold him strictly accountable for this premeditated and brutal crime, and uphold social justice."
A petition containing the signatures of 100,000 people was also submitted to the court.
Seventy percent of the participants were youths in their teens and 20s, around Chae-won's age. They petitioned for severe punishment, saying, "Please ensure that students do not have to live in fear when walking down the streets at night," and "This was not a story from a distant land, but a horrifying reality that could have happened to our own families or to ourselves."
In late August, prosecutors demanded the death penalty—the maximum legal sentence—for Jang, who has been standing trial on charges including rape and murder.
While Jang has admitted to all the charges brought by the prosecution and submitted three letters of apology stating, "I committed a crime that should never have been done, I apologize to the victim and the bereaved family, and I will carry the weight of my sins for the rest of my life," allegations have emerged that he has repeatedly made remarks showing no remorse, such as expressing distorted sexual values to fellow inmates in prison.
The first-trial sentencing hearing for Jang will be held at 2 PM tomorrow at the Gwangju District Court.
(Reported by Dong Eunyeong | Camera footage by Kim Hak-mo | Video edited by Yu Mi-ra | Produced by SBS Digital News)
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