Life Sentence Confirmed for 2001 ‘Daejeon Kookmin Bank Robbery and Murder Suspect’

Lee Seung-man (53) and Lee Jeong-hak (51), who committed the 'Daejeon Kookmin Bank pistol robbery and murder case' 22 years ago, have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Supreme Court, Seocho-gu, Seoul.

The Supreme Court's 1st Division (Presiding Justice No Tae-ak) confirmed on the 14th the original sentence of life imprisonment for Lee Seung-man and Lee Jeong-hak, who were indicted for robbery and murder.

They are accused of killing the bank teller with a pistol and stealing 300 million won in cash in the underground parking lot of Daejeon Kookmin Bank in December 2001. The pistol they used was stolen after hitting a patrolling police officer on foot with a car two months before the crime. The police arrested them last year, 21 years after the incident, based on DNA left at the crime scene.

During the trial, the two shifted responsibility by claiming to each other that they did not pull the trigger of the pistol. In the process, it was revealed that Lee Jeong-hak was the true culprit in another long-unsolved case, the 'Jeonju Sergeant Baek Seon-gi murder case.'

The first trial court sentenced Lee Seung-man as the main perpetrator to life imprisonment. Lee Jeong-hak was sentenced to 20 years in prison for participating in the crime. The second trial court also found that Lee Jeong-hak was not the main perpetrator but judged that his guilt was not lighter than Lee Seung-man's.

The second trial court stated, "He played a necessary and important role in the success of the crime, so it is difficult to see his guilt as lighter than Lee Seung-man's," and "Even considering favorable circumstances, unfavorable circumstances outweigh them," sentencing both to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court also agreed with the second trial court's judgment.