Supreme Court Confirms Life Sentence for Jeon Joo-hwan in 'Sindang Station Stalking Murder' Case

Jeon Juhwan (32, male), a coworker and the suspect accused of murdering a station attendant at Sindang Station whom he had been stalking, has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice No Jeonghee) on the morning of the 12th dismissed Jeon Juhwan's appeal in the final hearing for violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (retaliatory murder), the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes (coercion using filmed materials), and the Stalking Punishment Act, thereby upholding the original life imprisonment sentence.

The court stated the reason for dismissing the appeal, saying, "Considering various sentencing factors such as the defendant's age, character, environment, relationship with the victim, motives, methods and results of each crime in this case, and circumstances after the crimes, even taking into account favorable factors for the defendant, it cannot be said that the original court's life imprisonment sentence was grossly unjust."

Defendant Jeon Juhwan in the 'Sindang Station Stalking Murder' case. / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

Jeon Juhwan is accused of persistently stalking a female victim in her 20s, whom he met as a coworker at Seoul Metro in 2019, and threatening her by illegally filming her. In particular, when the trial date for the stalking and illegal filming case, for which he was prosecuted following the victim's report, was set and a prison sentence was expected, he allegedly visited the victim's workplace at Sindang Station on Seoul Subway Line 2 on September 14 last year and retaliated by murdering her with a weapon in the women's restroom.

Investigations revealed that Jeon Juhwan prepared for the crime in advance by checking the victim's address and work information four times through the company's internal network from August 18, last year, when the final hearing for the stalking case was held, until the day of the crime. He also showed meticulousness by installing an app to obstruct location tracking on his phone, purchasing disposable transportation cards with cash, and wearing anti-slip gloves and a hair cap.

The first trial court, which handled the retaliatory murder charge, sentenced him to 40 years in prison in February. The prosecution appealed the first trial's 40-year sentence, citing excessive sentencing.

Meanwhile, on the 29th of the same month, after the victim's death, he was sentenced to 9 years in prison at the first trial for stalking and illegal filming charges. This trial involved accusations that he sent hundreds of messages causing fear or anxiety to the victim, a coworker avoiding his contact, and threatened her using sexually explicit videos filmed against her will after she received a written warning from the police following her report.

These trials were consolidated in the appellate court.

The Seoul High Court Criminal Division 12-2 (Presiding Judge Jin Hyunmin, Judges Kim Hyungbae and Kim Gillyang), which handled Jeon Juhwan's appeal, sentenced him to life imprisonment on July 11, stating, "It is appropriate for the defendant to live a life of sincere repentance through incarceration isolated from society and to atone for the victim and her bereaved family for life." They also ordered him to complete 40 hours of stalking treatment and sexual violence treatment programs and to wear an electronic location tracking device (electronic anklet) for 15 years.

At that time, the court said, "He committed heinous crimes repeatedly during the intervention of public authority and trial proceedings to retaliate against the victim's rightful reports and complaints," and "He brutally trampled on human dignity and value by going to the victim's workplace and killing an innocent victim."

Regarding the multiple letters of remorse continuously submitted by Jeon Juhwan, the court stated, "Although he submitted several letters of remorse to investigative agencies and the first trial court after the stalking and other crimes, he proceeded to retaliatory murder," and "There is fundamental doubt about the meaning of the defendant's remorse letters and whether he is sincerely reflecting on his crimes even now."

It added, "Given that he committed antisocial and heinous crimes without hesitation, the risk of recidivism is high," and "There is considerable doubt about the possibility of rehabilitation in the future."

The prosecution sought the death penalty for Jeon Juhwan at both the first trial and the second trial's final hearing. However, the court rejected this, stating, "Life imprisonment is also a very severe punishment that does not deprive life but permanently isolates the defendant from society. It cannot be clearly concluded that there are special circumstances justifying the death penalty for the defendant."