Nine Months After the Retrial Decision
Kim Shinhye (47, female), who was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court on charges of parricide, has been acquitted in a retrial.
The 1st Criminal Division of the Haenam Branch of the Gwangju District Court (Presiding Judge Park Hyunsoo) overturned the original verdict and pronounced Kim not guilty on June 6, after she had been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for parricide and other charges. The verdict comes nine years after the retrial was granted.
Kim Sinhye is moving to the Ministry of Justice escort vehicle after attending the retrial preparation hearing held at the Gwangju District Court Haenam Branch on June 28, 2023. Photo by Yonhap News
In March 2003, Kim was convicted of giving her father alcohol laced with sleeping pills in Wando, Jeonnam, and abandoning his body, resulting in a life sentence. However, Kim claimed that the investigation at the time involved police coercion and illegality, and she filed for a retrial. In 2015, the court decided to open the retrial.
During the retrial, which ended with Kim's acquittal more than nine years after the decision to reopen the case, key issues included her motive, the circumstances of her alleged confession, evidence such as sleeping pills, her alibi, and whether the investigation was coercive or illegal. The court ultimately ruled in Kim's favor.
This trial was a retrial of the initial trial that resulted in Kim's life sentence. If the prosecution appeals the not-guilty verdict, the case may proceed to a second trial and possibly to the Supreme Court.
Kim, who did not attend the trial, is expected to be released soon following her acquittal in the retrial.
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