40s Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Causing Female BJ's Asphyxiation During Sexual Intercourse

15 Years of Wearing a Location Tracking Device

A man in his 40s who was charged with causing the suffocation death of a woman in her 20s, a BJ he had been sponsoring, during sexual intercourse was sentenced to a heavy prison term.

On the 4th, the Criminal Division 11 of the Seoul Western District Court (Presiding Judge Bae Seong-jung) sentenced Kim, who was tried on charges including murder, to 25 years in prison and ordered him to wear an electronic monitoring device for 15 years. Kim’s ex-wife, Song, who was charged with aiding his escape, was sentenced to six months in prison with a one-year probation. Previously, the prosecution had requested a 30-year prison sentence and a 15-year electronic monitoring order for Kim.

The court explained the sentencing by stating, "Life is an absolutely precious value that must be protected, and murder is an extremely serious crime whose damage cannot be repaired by any means. The defendant strangled the victim to death, and the victim ended her life in extreme pain. The victim’s family and acquaintances are suffering indescribable grief and pain."

It added, "The defendant has a prior murder conviction using a similar method and has been criminally punished twice for violent crimes, yet he did not restrain himself and took the victim’s life. The defendant claimed that he did not stop strangling because the victim did not shout a 'safe word' and tried to evade responsibility by saying he could not call 119 due to his murder record."

Kim was charged with strangling a woman in her 20s, A, to death during sexual intercourse at an officetel in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, around 3:30 a.m. on March 11, and then fleeing the scene.

Kim had sponsored A, who was broadcasting on an online platform, with about 12 million won and reportedly met her about six times since early March this year.

Immediately after the crime, Kim is also accused of going to A’s house about three times, pouring water over the corpse, which appears to be an act of evidence destruction, and disguising the incident as a robbery by distributing the victim’s belongings across various locations in Seoul.