"Not a Form of Leniency," Judge Says; Bereaved Family Wails at Jang Yoon-gi's Sentencing

Jang Yoon-gi, charged with murdering a high school sophomore girl in Gwangju last May, has been sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial.

The Gwangju District Court sentenced Jang Yoon-gi, who faces charges including rape and murder under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, to life in prison today (September 30).

The court also ordered Jang Yoon-gi to wear an electronic tracking device and issued a 10-year employment restriction at institutions related to children, adolescents, and disabled individuals.

Jang Yoon-gi was indicted on charges of murdering a second-year high school girl on a deserted pedestrian walkway in Wolgye-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, at around midnight on May 5, and swinging a weapon at a male high school sophomore who rushed to the scene after hearing screams.

Jang is also accused of stalking and sexually assaulting a foreign woman two days prior to the murder of the high school girl.

The court stated, "All of the defendant's charged facts are recognized as guilty. The prosecutor's argument that the defendant must be permanently isolated from society is valid."

However, taking into consideration that "South Korea is a de facto abolitionist state for capital punishment and there is no absolute life imprisonment to bridge the gap between the death penalty and life imprisonment," the court explained the sentencing reasoning by saying, "This is not leniency, but rather making him repent while suffering in lifelong imprisonment."

The bereaved family, who had appealed for severe punishment by staging a one-person protest urging the death penalty in front of the Gwangju District Court, broke down in loud sobs and protested the court's life sentence.

(Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Kim Na-on | Design by Sumin | Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.