Life Imprisonment Sought for Man in His 40s Who Murdered and Buried Acquaintance Over Debt Demands

Life imprisonment has been sought for a man in his 40s who murdered an acquaintance for pressing him over unpaid debts and buried the body in a nearby mountain.

During the trial held today by Panel Division 22 of the Cheongju District Court (Presiding Judge Han Sang-won), prosecutors demanded the life sentence for a defendant identified as A, who faces charges of murder and abandonment of a corpse.

Defendant A is on trial for strangling an acquaintance in his 60s, identified as B, to death around 4:00 PM on February 4 inside a container office at a construction firm run by A's father in Okcheon-eup, Okcheon-gun, North Chungcheong Province, and placing the victim's body in a hemp sack to bury it in a nearby mountain the following evening.

Investigations revealed that A had borrowed about 300 million won from B for business funds but failed to repay it on time. When B pressed him for repayment while A was attempting to persuade the victim of his repayment capacity by claiming he would inherit the family business, A committed the crime.

Prosecutors told the court, "The defendant squandered the money borrowed from the victim on online gambling and murdered the victim when pressed for the debt. We ask the court to consider that he methodically planned the crime, such as by deleting vehicle dashcam footage."

A's defense counsel stated, "Please take into consideration that the defendant is genuinely remorseful for his crime and is making sincere efforts to provide compensation to the bereaved family, and that the victim's side has expressed a desire not to see him punished."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.