Charges of Robbery, Murder, and Concealment of a Corpse
The prosecution has requested a life sentence for a man in his 40s who was arrested and indicted on charges of killing his stepmother for her basic pension and other assets, and then secretly burying her body.
On the 17th, at the sentencing hearing held before the 14th Criminal Division of the Seoul Southern District Court (Presiding Judge Jang Seong-hoon), the prosecution stated regarding Bae (49), "He killed his mother, the victim, for economic reasons and concealed the body, showing extremely bad criminal behavior," and made this request.
Bae's defense attorney said in the final argument, "The defendant admits to all his crimes and is remorseful," adding, "Please consider that it was not a premeditated crime but an impulsive act that occurred during the process of the victim slapping the defendant's cheek."
Bae is accused of strangling his stepmother A (75) to death at her home in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, in October last year when she tried to stop him from taking his older sister's disabled pension bankbook, and then secretly burying the body near a river in Yecheon, Gyeongbuk, the next day (charges of robbery-murder and corpse concealment). He then withdrew about 1.6 million won from A's pension account.
The police reclassified the case from a simple missing person case to a suspected murder case in November of the same year and tracked Bae down, arresting him at a motel in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.
Investigations revealed that Bae had lost his job in April last year, six months before the incident, borrowed money from those around him, squandered his assets on betting on motorboat and bicycle races and supporting internet broadcasts, and incurred debts. It was also found that Bae had forged a false will stating that he would inherit all of A's assets upon her death.
The sentencing date for Bae is scheduled for the 7th of next month.
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