‘Gangnam Officetel Mother-Daughter Relationship Murder’ Park Hak-seon Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in First Trial…Court: "Serious Nature of Crime"

Park Hak-seon (65), who committed the so-called 'dating murder' at an officetel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 1st, the Criminal Division 23 of the Seoul Central District Court (Chief Judge Oh Se-yong) sentenced Park, who was tried on charges of murdering a woman in her 60s, A, and her daughter in her 30s, B, to life imprisonment.

The court stated, "Murder is a crime that irreversibly infringes on the life of a person who has dignity and absolute value," and added, "The nature of this crime itself is so severe and blameworthy that it cannot be compared to any other crime."

It continued, "There is no reason to believe that there is a low possibility of reoffending with violent crimes in situations where anger is felt toward family members or dating partners in the future," and "Cases where death sentences were initially given in lower courts but ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment or less were mainly considered as sentencing factors."

Previously, the prosecution's demand was the death penalty. At the sentencing hearing on September 30, the prosecution described Park's crime as an "extreme disregard for human life murder case" and requested the court to impose the death penalty, stating, "There is a need to sound the alarm on the increasingly serious crimes between lovers."

Park was brought to trial on charges of murdering the mother and daughter at an officetel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on May 30. After being notified of a breakup by A, Park went up to the victims' office, killed daughter B, and then chased and killed A, who was trying to escape, according to the investigation.

He fled after the crime but was arrested by the police 13 hours later. Due to the brutality of the crime and the severity of the victims' harm, the police released Park Hak-seon's mugshot and personal information.