Court Sentences Jeong Yoo-jeong to Life Imprisonment in First Trial for 'Peer Bizarre Murder'... "Planned Crime, Doubts About Remorse"

"Complete Isolation from Society Justifies Life Imprisonment"

Jeong Yujeong (23), who was charged with murdering a woman in her 20s whom she met through a tutoring app, dismembering the body, and abandoning it, was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Criminal Division 6 of the Busan District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Tae-eop) sentenced Jeong Yujeong to life imprisonment at the first trial sentencing hearing held on the morning of the 24th. The court also ordered the attachment of a location tracking device for 30 years.

The defendant Jeong Yoo-jeong in the bizarre peer murder case. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The court stated, "This case is recognized as a planned and meticulous crime," adding, "The defendant decided to commit murder, diligently searched for a target, and even planned to mutilate and abandon the corpse."

It continued, "The defendant harbored resentment and anger toward her family during her upbringing, accumulated feelings of helplessness due to continuous failures such as university admission and employment, and longed for others' lives. These accumulated negative emotions appear to have led to the crime."

Furthermore, the court pointed out, "Although many letters of remorse were submitted to the court, it is doubtful whether the defendant is truly remorseful," and "The behavior shown since her arrest has been deliberate and calculated."

Regarding the reason for not sentencing the defendant to death as requested by the prosecution, the court explained, "Considering the defendant's upbringing environment, it seems to have influenced the formation of an abnormal personality," and "While the public's sense of justice warrants severe punishment, it was deemed appropriate to impose life imprisonment, which completely isolates her from society."

Jeong Yujeong is accused of approaching A (26 years old at the time of death) around 5:50 p.m. on May 26 through a tutoring app, visiting A's home, and stabbing A's entire body multiple times with a pre-prepared utility knife, resulting in murder.

She is also charged with mutilating A's corpse with a pre-prepared Chinese cleaver between 6:10 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on the same day, damaging the corpse, and abandoning parts of the body in a park located in Yangsan City, Gyeongnam, around 1:15 a.m. on May 27. Additionally, she is accused of theft for wearing A's clothes after blood stained her own.

After the crime, Jeong Yujeong attempted to make it appear as if A was missing by abandoning the body along the Nakdong River, where she usually took walks. However, a taxi driver found it suspicious that she discarded a blood-stained suitcase in the forest and reported it to the police, leading to her capture.

In June, the prosecution formally indicted Jeong Yujeong on charges of murder, corpse mutilation, corpse abandonment, and theft.

During additional investigations after Jeong Yujeong was brought to trial, it was confirmed that she had approached and attempted to meet two other individuals besides A through the tutoring app where she initially met A.

At the sentencing hearing held on the 6th, the prosecution requested the death penalty for Jeong Yujeong, stating, "The defendant is not capable of rehabilitation, and there is no possibility of a wrongful conviction." The prosecution also requested electronic monitoring and probation orders for 10 years.

Jeong Yujeong's defense attorney acknowledged, "The defendant's crimes are grave," but requested mitigation, citing unspecified bipolar impulsive disorder.

In her final statement, Jeong Yujeong said, "I am diligently studying Chinese and Japanese, and I will reflect on myself to live with a law-abiding spirit as a member of society, making every effort," and appealed to the court for leniency, saying, "I earnestly hope for a chance to be rehabilitated and live as a new person."