It has been revealed that a 59-year-old man surnamed Choi, who went on an indiscriminate knife rampage at a large commercial facility in Incheon, had previously been sentenced to probation for attempted murder and then stabbed another person with a weapon while still on probation.
Despite this, the court handed down another suspended sentence.
According to court rulings and other documents, Choi's first attempted murder case occurred in September 2004.
At the time, after his rented home went up for auction and he was unable to get his deposit back, Choi was put on trial on charges of attempting to murder an employee at the real estate agency that brokered the contract using a weapon.
He was sentenced to five years in prison in the first trial, but his sentence was reduced in the appeals court to two years and six months in prison with three years of probation.
The probation period was set to last until April 19, 2008.
However, on November 16, 2007, Choi stabbed a woman he was living with more than 10 times with a weapon while under the influence of alcohol.
Choi was indicted on charges of wounding with a deadly weapon.
Yet on April 24, 2008, the Incheon District Court sentenced Choi to one year and six months in prison with three years of probation.
This ruling came exactly five days after his previous probation period ended.
The reason he was able to receive another suspended sentence despite committing a crime again during his probation period lay in the timing of the verdict.
Although Choi's second crime took place during the probation period, the verdict was handed down after the probation period had expired, allowing him to receive a suspended sentence.
In connection with this, criticism has already been raised within the legal community that sentencing outcomes can vary depending on how quickly a trial concludes.
Points have also been made that defendants may be incentivized to intentionally delay trials.
In a related research paper, Lee Jae-bang, a former professor at Hongik University College of Law, argued that the law should be clearly amended so that individuals who intentionally commit crimes during a probation period cannot be granted probation again.
Choi is suspected of wielding a weapon once more on the 13th at a large commercial facility in Guwol-dong, Incheon, injuring multiple citizens.
As it has come to light that Choi received suspended sentences despite committing violent knife crimes on two past occasions, controversy is growing regarding the judiciary's decisions on repeated violent crimes and the appropriateness of the probation system.
Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Hong Jin-young | Graphics by Lee Su-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
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