Witness Testimonies on Retaliatory Threats
"He Said He Would Kill the Victim After Release"
Testimonies from fellow inmates have emerged, claiming that the perpetrator of the 'Busan Roundhouse Kick Incident' repeatedly made retaliatory and derogatory remarks about the victim while in detention.
On August 19, Yonhap News reported that the Busan District Court Western Branch Criminal Division 1 held a hearing for Lee (32), the perpetrator of the so-called 'Busan Roundhouse Kick Incident,' who has been indicted on charges of retaliatory threats. The court conducted a second round of witness examinations. Previously, Lee was indicted for threatening to seek revenge on the victim after his release while in detention, as well as for sending a threatening letter to his ex-girlfriend.
At the trial, two inmates who had shared the same cell with Lee appeared as witnesses. Both testified that Lee frequently made threatening and derogatory remarks about the victim.
Witness A, who was detained in the same cell as Lee for three months from March to June last year, stated, "When news about the roundhouse kick incident came on, I heard Lee telling an inmate in the next cell that he felt wronged and that he would kill and sexually assault the victim after being released." At the time, Lee was undergoing an appellate trial, and the charge of attempted murder from the first trial had been changed to attempted rape and murder in the appeal.
Witness A added, "Since Lee was speaking loudly so that others in different cells could hear, most inmates in the same cell probably heard these remarks." This practice, known as 'tongbang,' refers to inmates raising their voices in their cell to communicate with those in other cells. Another witness, B, also testified that Lee frequently made retaliatory remarks. Both witnesses reported that Lee often expressed resentment about his sentence rather than remorse for his actions.
The victim, who attended the trial, said, "I believe this trial reveals the defendant's complete lack of remorse."
This is not the first time testimonies about Lee's retaliatory remarks have surfaced. During the first round of witness examinations in May, two other inmates who had shared a cell with Lee also testified that Lee had said he would seek revenge on the victim. At that time, a witness stated that Lee had written down a list of people he intended to retaliate against in his notebook, which included not only the victim but also the presiding judge from the first trial, the prosecutor, and his ex-girlfriend.
The 'Busan Roundhouse Kick' incident occurred at around 5 a.m. on May 22, 2022, when a man in his 30s, Lee, assaulted a woman in her 20s whom he did not know in Seomyeon, Busanjin District, Busan, causing her to lose consciousness and then attempted to sexually assault her. Last year, the Supreme Court sentenced Lee to 20 years in prison for attempted rape and murder.
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