Busan Roundhouse Kick Victim "Sillim-dong Incident Was Harsh... Also Feeling Guilty"

"Lenient Sentencing Standards Create Copycat Crimes"
"Offender Sentenced to 20 Years, Fear of Retaliation After Release"

The victim A of the 'Busan spinning kick' case stated about the Seoul 'Sinlim-dong hiking trail sexual assault and murder' case that occurred last month, "I believe that the lenient sentencing standards were ultimately the biggest influence that led to copycat crimes." The suspect Choi Yoon-jong in the Sinlim-dong case testified to the prosecution that he planned the crime after seeing the Busan spinning kick case.

In an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 22nd, A said that when he first encountered the Sinlim-dong case, "Unlike other cases, there was a chilling feeling," and "I thought the pattern was very similar."

Busan 돌려차기 incident perpetrator.
Photo by Yonhap News

In particular, he confessed, "(Choi Yoon-jong) struck the head more than any other part, which I found strange, and I thought he paid a lot of attention to CCTV blind spots," adding, "I think I lived with guilt for about a week."

A said, "The bereaved family of the Sinlim-dong case contacted me," and "When I talked about these things, fortunately, they comforted me by saying, 'No, you don't need to think that way at all,' and 'The perpetrator is at fault, so why should the victim worry about that?'"

Regarding the occurrence of copycat crimes, he explained, "It has nothing to do with media coverage. Of course, it can be an idea or source, but ultimately, the failure to prevent the execution of the crime sends a message about how flawed the law must have been for an offender with 18 prior convictions to still commit such acts." The perpetrator in A's case is a repeat offender with 18 prior convictions and committed the assault against A just three months after being released.

Regarding the perpetrator being sentenced to 20 years in prison, A said, "Because the perpetrator memorized my address and vowed revenge, I still think he might retaliate after release," and confessed, "It’s not over just because the sentence is being served; I have to worry about how to avoid this and live 20 years later, so it’s not entirely comforting."

He repeatedly emphasized, "We need to eliminate any sentencing considerations related to (the perpetrator’s) remorse, diminished mental capacity, or first-time offender status to reduce copycat crimes."