A 15-year prison sentence has been finalized for a man in his 60s who stabbed and killed an acquaintance with a weapon following an argument during a drinking session.

The Supreme Court's Division 1 (presiding Justice Ma Yong-joo) recently finalized the lower court's ruling sentencing the man in his 60s, identified as A, to 15 years in prison on murder charges.

A was accused of killing a friend of 30 years, identified as B, who lived with him, following a verbal altercation during a drinking session at his residence in Gunsan on the early morning of December 4 of last year.

The argument began when A tried to stop B, who was drunk and shouting, and the dispute escalated into a physical fight, ending with A stabbing B with a weapon.

The first trial court stated, "It is difficult to find any special mitigating circumstances in the motive or background of the crime, and the nature of the offense is poor," but added, "We considered favorable sentencing factors, such as A admitting to the crime, the offense appearing to have been committed on impulse, and A appearing to have taken subsequent measures by calling 119 after the crime."

During the appeal, A argued that the initial sentence was too heavy, stating, "I committed the crime while intoxicated to the extent that I could not remember the situation at the time of the incident."

However, the second trial court determined that A was not in a state of mental or physical weakness, based on the fact that A gave specific statements regarding the background of the crime when calling 119 immediately after the offense and during police questioning on the same day.

In addition, noting that there were no fundamental changes in sentencing conditions compared to the first trial, the court maintained the 15-year prison sentence.

The Supreme Court dismissed A's appeal, concluding that there were no errors in the second trial court's judgment.