'Threatened with "exposure of affair"... Gang sentenced to 10 years for intentionally causing fatal car accident'

[Image source = Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] A heavy sentence of more than 10 years in prison has been confirmed for a group of people who killed a man by running him over with a car after he pressured them, threatening to expose their extramarital affair if they did not return his real estate investment funds.

On the 1st, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice No Tae-ak) announced that it upheld the original sentence of 10 years in prison for Mr. A (62), who was charged with attempted murder but was found guilty of murder.

Mr. A, who was a representative of an apartment complex in Gyeongnam in 2017, stood trial for allegedly orchestrating a traffic accident in April 2019 that left Mr. B (62), with whom he had a falling out over investment issues, in a coma.

Mr. B was also a representative of the same apartment complex and, through a real estate agent Mr. C (60) introduced by Mr. A, invested a total of 1.16 billion KRW in real estate in Miryang, Gyeongnam, and Gijang, Busan.

By June 2018, Mr. B had completed the transfer of ownership registration for all the plots, but it was only by the end of that year that he realized he had purchased the land at a price higher than the actual transaction value.

Subsequently, Mr. B filed a complaint against the agent Mr. C to recover his investment funds and also requested Mr. A to restore his damages. Additionally, Mr. B reportedly sent text messages threatening to reveal to their families that Mr. A and Mr. C were in an extramarital relationship if the investment money was not returned.

In response, Mr. A conspired with Mr. C, saying, "Let's stage a traffic accident to put Mr. B into a vegetative state," and Mr. D (67), an acquaintance of Mr. C, directly hit Mr. B at an intersection near the apartment complex. Mr. A is known to have cooperated by tailing and other means.

Mr. B, who was hit by the car, suffered brain damage and fell into an unconscious state.

The first trial, conducted as a citizen participation trial, initially sentenced Mr. A to 10 years in prison for attempted murder.

However, after Mr. B died three days later, the charge against Mr. A was changed from attempted murder to murder in the second trial. The court also recognized the murder charge but maintained the 10-year prison sentence.

The prosecution immediately appealed, arguing the sentence was too light, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, citing precedent that prosecutors cannot appeal on the grounds that the sentence is excessively light when the sentence is death, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for 10 years or more under Article 383, Paragraph 4 of the Criminal Procedure Act, thereby confirming the 10-year sentence.

Meanwhile, the real estate agent Mr. C and his acquaintance Mr. D were found guilty of murder and received confirmed sentences of 20 years and 18 years in prison, respectively.