'Serial Drug Murder' Defendant Kim So-young Sentenced to Life in Prison... Bereaved Families to Appeal

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The defendant in the serial drug murder case, Kim So-young, has been sentenced to life in prison in the first trial. While Kim consistently claimed that she did not know the victims would die, the court recognized her intent to commit murder. The bereaved families expressed regret, stating that a death sentence should have been handed down.

Reporter Lee Se-hyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

Kim So-young appeared in the courtroom today (the 27th) for her first-trial sentencing hearing wearing a green prisoner uniform with a expressionless face.

Kim has stood trial for five months on charges of handing drinks, including hangover relief beverages laced with drugs, to six men starting in October of last year, resulting in the deaths of two and injuring four others.

While prosecutors previously sought the death penalty for Kim, the first-instance court sentenced her to life in prison along with 30 years of wearing an electronic tracking device.

Throughout the trial, Kim denied the charges, claiming, "I did not know the risk of death," and "I only intended to make them fall asleep out of concern for excessive physical contact from the other parties," but the court rejected these arguments.

Although she asked ChatGPT questions such as whether taking an excessive amount of sleeping pills with alcohol is dangerous, she claimed she could not remember searching for it. The court stated, "The claim that she remembers the victims' detailed actions but cannot recall the ChatGPT conversation is unacceptable," and concluded that she had indirect intent to commit murder.

The court also dismissed claims made by Kim's side that her actions were "to defend against sexual violence," pointing out that "there were no circumstances indicating the victims attempted excessive physical contact."

However, the court acquitted her of an incident last October where a man temporarily fell unconscious while having a meal with Kim, citing a lack of direct evidence.

The bereaved families expressed regret over the life sentence rather than the death penalty.

[Nam Eon-ho / Attorney for Bereaved Families: We hold a regretful opinion, hoping that the court would have actively considered declaring the maximum existing punishment, if only as a declaratory measure.]

As prosecutors have also begun reviewing whether to appeal, the bereaved families stated they will convey the necessity of an appeal to the prosecution.

(Camera Curation: Choi Dae-woong, Video Editing: Jeong Yong-hwa, Design: Seo Seung-hyun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.