30s Predicting Weapon Rampage in Daerim-dong, Suspended Prison Sentence
"Multiple Victims' Anxiety, Bad Crime Nature" Overturned and Remanded in 2nd Trial
A man in his 30s who was indicted for posting a warning online about committing a stabbing in Daerim-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul last year was sentenced to imprisonment again in the retrial. Photo by Jeon Gyeong, Seoul Central District Court. Yonhap News
A man in his 30s who was indicted last year for posting a threat online about committing a violent attack with a weapon in Daerim-dong, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, was sentenced to imprisonment again in the retrial after remand. However, the first trial's ruling, which dismissed the charges of intimidation on the grounds that the victims were not specified, was overturned and judged as guilty.
On the 5th, Judge Hyun Kyung-hoon of the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 15 sentenced Park (33) to one year in prison with a two-year probation period in the retrial after remand for charges including obstruction of official duties by deception and intimidation. Probation and 120 hours of community service were also ordered.
Park was prosecuted for posting threatening messages on the online community 'Ilgan Best Storage' last July, such as "I will perform a knife dance in Daerim-dong" and "I am leaving now," indicating a planned violent attack with a weapon. He also posted a navigation screen capture set to Daerim-dong as the destination along with a photo of a weapon. The post was made two days after the 'Shillim Station knife attack' incident. The police tracked the internet protocol (IP) address and successfully arrested Park at his residence in Incheon in August last year.
The court stated, "The crime caused many victims to feel anxious and wasted police resources, so the nature of the crime is not good," but added, "However, considering that the defendant admitted all charges and showed remorse," explaining the sentencing rationale.
Previously, the first trial sentenced Park to one year in prison with a two-year probation period, but the appellate court overturned part of the first trial's dismissal of charges in September and sent the case back to the first trial. The first trial recognized the intimidation charges related to victims who viewed and reported Park's posts as guilty, but dismissed the prosecution's charges regarding intimidation of merchants near Daerim Station, citing unspecified victims. However, the second trial judged that due to the nature of such crimes, the identification of victims could inevitably be abstract.
The second trial court explained at the time, "Although the prosecutor described the victims illustratively and abstractly considering the special nature of crimes targeting unspecified many, it is inevitable due to the nature of the crime," and added, "There is no deficiency in clearly defining the scope of the defendant's right to defense." On this day, the retrial after remand re-examined this part and also recognized the intimidation charges against merchants near Daerim-dong as guilty, but the sentence remained at the same level as the original first trial.
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