15-Year Sentence for Filial Offender Who Killed Father to Avoid Job Nagging... Family Hoped for Leniency

Ulsan District Court.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A man in his 30s who killed his father with a weapon amid conflicts over employment issues claimed diminished responsibility, but the court rejected this and sentenced him to prison.

However, although parricide carries a heavier penalty, the court sentenced the 'paerun-a' to 15 years in prison.

According to the Ulsan District Court on the 27th, the 11th Criminal Division sentenced Mr. A, who was tried on charges of parricide, to 15 years in prison.

Mr. A is accused of killing his father with a weapon in their apartment in Dong-gu, Ulsan, in January 2021 after his father, with whom he had frequent conflicts over employment issues, insulted and scolded him. In anger, Mr. A drank alcohol and wielded a weapon to kill his father.

In court, Mr. A pleaded for leniency, claiming he was in a state of diminished responsibility due to delusional disorder.

The court found that although Mr. A had a mild intellectual disability, he was not in a state of diminished responsibility to the extent that he could not distinguish things.

The court stated, “It is acknowledged that the defendant’s overall intelligence was measured at an IQ of 64, which is at the level of ‘mild intellectual disability,’ but the psychiatric evaluation showed he had relatively good social adaptability, no signs of delusions or unrealistic thoughts, no typos and natural context in the text messages sent just before the crime, and he reported the crime to the police himself. Considering all these factors, the defendant’s claim of diminished responsibility cannot be accepted.”

The court added, “The crime of stabbing and killing the victim who gave birth to and raised him with a weapon is an antisocial and inhumane crime that cannot be tolerated for any reason and requires severe punishment. However, we considered the defendant’s deep remorse, voluntary surrender to the police, the fact that the crime was committed impulsively under the influence of alcohol, and the requests for leniency from the victim’s surviving mother and brother in sentencing.”