"You'll be imprisoned anyway, so I'll kill you and go to jail"…Ex-lover kills after rejection of settlement

[Asia Economy Reporter Han-ah Na] In the first trial where a man in his 50s was sentenced to 35 years in prison for assaulting his ex-lover and stabbing her with a weapon in retaliation after she refused to settle, Im filed an appeal against the verdict.

Im (52) and A, a person in their 50s, started dating about three years ago. However, Im continuously assaulted A, and the two repeatedly broke up and got back together.

On the night of January 8 last year, when A, unable to endure Im’s violence any longer, said she wanted to break up, Im went to the pub A operated, hurled insults, drove out the customers, and caused a disturbance.

When A left the place, Im immediately chased after her, saying, "I will make sure you can’t run your business here. I have a gangster younger brother; do you think you can do business? I will kill you and go to prison," kicking her ribs several times and punching her face.

At that time, Im forced a sharp weapon into A’s hand, saying, "Die," and pressed the weapon against her solar plexus with force.

Afterward, A applied for police protection and filed a complaint against Im with the prosecution, but Im persistently demanded a settlement.

In May of the same year, Im drank alcohol, got behind the wheel, and headed to A’s residence.

The police, who received a report saying, "A heavily intoxicated person was seen getting out of the car," requested Im to take a breathalyzer test, but Im refused, and while under investigation for assault, he was prosecuted for refusing the alcohol test.

As the sentencing day approached, Im decided to reach a settlement with A at all costs, believing that if he were detained in court, the possibility of settlement would disappear and he would face a heavier sentence.

Accordingly, at 1:57 a.m. on July 7, he went to the pub operated by A and demanded a settlement again.

However, A strongly refused to talk with Im and reported to 112 (emergency number), and Im was forcibly sent home by the police that day.

An hour later, Im went back to A and stabbed her repeatedly with a weapon, killing her.

Im was charged with retaliatory murder under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes and claimed that at the time of the crime, he was in a state of mental incapacity or diminished capacity due to alcohol use disorder and organic personality disorder.

The first trial, based on psychiatric evaluation results, acknowledged that Im had severe alcohol use disorder and organic personality disorder at the time of the crime but ruled that he did not meet the criteria for mental incapacity or diminished capacity.

The court said, "The defendant continuously and repeatedly harassed the victim and ultimately killed her brutally," sentencing him to 35 years in prison and ordering him to wear an electronic monitoring device (electronic anklet) for 20 years.

The court explained the sentencing by saying, "Instead of reflecting on the victim’s suffering caused by the prior crimes, the defendant took her life because she filed a complaint and refused to settle," and "The pain the victim endured until death was extremely severe."

It added, "It is difficult to comprehend the grief, pain, anger, and wounds the victim’s family must bear, and the family is pleading for severe punishment," and "Punishment commensurate with the guilt is necessary."

Im appealed the verdict, and the prosecution, which had sought life imprisonment, also filed an appeal.