Court Sentences Life Imprisonment Again in Sillim-dong Knife Rampage Case in Chosun 2nd Trial

The suspect Cho Seon in the 'Sillim-dong Knife Rampage Incident' that resulted in four casualties is being transferred from Seoul Gwanak Police Station to the prosecution on the morning of July 28 last year.

Chosun (34), who caused four casualties by wielding a weapon in a busy area of Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul in broad daylight, was sentenced to life imprisonment again in the appellate court.

The Criminal Division 8 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Kim Jae-ho, Kim Kyung-ae, Seo Jeon-gyo) on the 14th dismissed both the appeals of Chosun, who was detained and prosecuted on charges including murder, and the prosecution, and sentenced him to life imprisonment as in the first trial.

Chosun was put on trial for stabbing a man, A (22 at the time), multiple times with a weapon and killing him around 2 p.m. on July 21 last year, about 80 meters away from Exit 4 of Sillim Station on Subway Line 2 in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, and for swinging the weapon at three other men with the intent to kill but failing.

As the employment crisis caused by COVID-19 continued, Chosun lived in seclusion and was sued for defamation due to writings posted online. Four days before the crime, when the police requested his appearance, he planned and carried out a public murder targeting young men, according to the investigation.

Earlier, the first trial court sentenced Chosun to life imprisonment in January.

At that time, the court pointed out, "He killed multiple victims in an extremely brutal manner, a crime unimaginable to ordinary people," and "The public who saw the video or heard the news were engulfed in fear, causing a great social impact."

The prosecution sought the death penalty for Chosun in the second trial as well as in the first trial.

At the sentencing hearing held in April, the prosecution said, "In the first trial, he claimed he had no intention to kill the victims and only intended to injure them, but when a harsher sentence than expected was handed down, he confessed in the appellate court that he had the intent to kill," adding, "It appears he tried to evade responsibility with a cowardly excuse that there was no intent to kill, but when sentenced to life imprisonment, he thinly confessed belatedly."

In his final statement, Chosun said, "No matter how you look at it, I seem to be the problem and have committed a grave sin. I have committed a very serious crime as a human being. I am sorry," and "I will apologize to the victims for the rest of my life, no matter how such a mistake happened," appealing for leniency.