Life Sentences Given to 'Serial Drug Killer' Kim So-young; Bereaved Families Plan to Appeal

[Anchor]

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

Reporter Lee Se-hyeon.

[Reporter]

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

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

The prosecution had previously sought the death penalty for Kim, but the court in the first trial sentenced her to life imprisonment along with 30 years of wearing an electronic tracking bracelet.

Throughout the trial, Kim denied the charges, claiming she "did not know the risk of death" and that she "only intended to make them fall asleep out of concern over excessive physical contact from the victims," but the court rejected her arguments.

Although she searched ChatGPT with questions such as whether taking excessive sleeping pills together with alcohol is dangerous, she claimed she could not remember making the searches. The court stated, "It is unconvincing to claim memory loss regarding the ChatGPT conversation content while remembering the victims' minute actions," determining that she had eventual intent to murder.

Furthermore, the court pointed out that "there were no circumstances indicating the victims attempted excessive physical contact," dismissing Kim's claim that her actions were "to defend against sexual violence."

However, the court acquitted her of an incident from October of last year where a man momentarily fell unconscious while dining 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 have a regrettable opinion that we wished the court had actively considered declaring the maximum punishment currently available, even if only declaratively.]

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

(Camera Reporter: Choi Dae-woong | Video Editor: Jung Yong-hwa | Designer: Seo Seung-hyun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.