They Said "Let's Have a Hotel Party"... Threatened with Dismemberment Murder, Detained and Assaulted

20s Sentenced to 4 Years for Robbery, Injury, and Confinement
Court: "Life Threatened in Closed Room... Extreme Fear"

A man in his 20s who lured a woman he met at a pub to a hotel room by saying, "Let's have a party with my group," then changed his attitude to threaten to dismember her and violently assaulted her, was sentenced to prison.

On the 25th, according to the legal community, the Criminal Division 11 of the Seoul Western District Court (Chief Judge Bae Seong-jung) recently sentenced A (29), who was indicted on charges of robbery and injury and confinement, to four years in prison.

A was prosecuted for approaching B (a woman in her 20s) whom he met at a pub in Mapo-gu, Seoul, last April, inviting her to party with his group at a hotel, then assaulting her and confiscating her cellphone in the hotel room.

At the time, A is also charged with threatening B with abusive language and saying, "Do you think no one will find out if I kill you here, dismember you, and call someone to take care of it?" when B tried to leave after confirming that the hotel room was empty without other companions, and confining her for about 40 minutes.

A even answered incoming calls on the confiscated phone himself to prevent B from asking for help. When B shouted "Help me" during a call, A hung up and repeatedly assaulted her face, causing bruises around her eyes and nose with an estimated recovery period of two weeks.

When the assaulted victim momentarily lost consciousness, a panicked A hurriedly left the hotel room, discarded the cellphone at a nearby apartment recycling station, and fled.

The court explained, "The victim was threatened with her life in a closed room, had her cellphone confiscated, and was blocked from calling for help from acquaintances, which likely caused extreme fear. She also suffered significant physical harm, including losing consciousness due to focused assaults on her face."

Regarding the sentencing, the court added, "However, the victim's injuries were not extremely severe, and considering that the defendant was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other bipolar affective disorders, making emotional regulation difficult, and that he had no prior criminal record exceeding fines before this incident, these factors were taken into account."