A man who posted a murder threat on an online community immediately after the ‘Shillim Station stabbing’ incident was sentenced to a suspended prison term again in the appellate court.
The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeal Division 8-3 (Presiding Judges Choi Jin-sook, Kim Jeong-gon, Choi Hae-il) on the 6th sentenced Choi (30), who was indicted on charges of intimidation and obstruction of official duties by deception, to one year in prison with a two-year suspension, the same as the first trial.
The court stated, “The post is sufficient to instill fear in those who read it,” and “We do not accept Choi’s claim that the intimidation charge does not correspond to a threat of harm.”
Furthermore, the court said, “Considering the social situation and the atmosphere of the online community at the time the post was made, it was reasonably foreseeable that readers would report it to the police, potentially obstructing official duties,” and “there is recognition of indirect intent.”
Choi was prosecuted on charges of posting a murder threat on an online community on July 26 last year, five days after the Shillim Station stabbing incident, stating, “I am standing at Shillim Station with a knife. From now on, I will kill people,” and causing about 20 police officers who received the report to rush to the scene, thereby obstructing police work.
The first trial sentenced Choi to one year in prison with a two-year suspension in November last year. At that time, the court judged, “Despite the police’s strong response guidelines to crime threats that caused great shock and fear to citizens being continuously reported at the time of the crime, he posted the message on the community without much guilt to attract others’ attention.”
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