The parents of a daughter who lost her life while undergoing treatment after being assaulted by her ex-boyfriend have once again submitted a national petition urging strict punishment for the perpetrator and strengthening of victim rights.
The victim's mother, Ms. A, posted a petition titled "Petition to Strengthen Procedural Rights of Dating Violence Victims in Criminal Trials and to Fully Reform the Crime of Injury Resulting in Death" on the National Assembly's electronic petition site on the 24th.
In her petition post, Ms. A appealed, "The perpetrator received a reduced sentence in the first trial on the grounds of showing sincere remorse, and we, as victims, have not been guaranteed any rights while the appeal trial is ongoing."
She said, "It is infuriating that we are not even guaranteed one-tenth of the opportunity to speak that the perpetrator is guaranteed," and added, "The current judicial system that only serves the perpetrator is wrong."
The bereaved family of the Geoje Dating Violence Death Case posted a petition on the National Assembly's National Consent Petition Board, urging the strengthening of procedural rights for criminal trials of dating violence victims and the comprehensive reform of the crime of injury resulting in death. National Assembly of the Republic of Korea National Consent Petition.
Ms. A further urged ▲abolition of the sentence reduction system based on letters of remorse ▲abolition of the crime of injury resulting in death between close relations such as family and lovers ▲strengthening of procedural rights for the victim side in trials.
Ms. A stated, "The perpetrator has not once apologized to me or the child's father even after more than a year since our daughter passed away, and has only submitted letters of remorse to the judge."
She added, "The handwriting in the letters of remorse was not even the perpetrator's handwriting, and each letter's handwriting was completely different," and "They wrote in detail about how seeing their own family suffer emotionally was heart-wrenching."
She emphasized, "The judge in the first trial read these and said that genuine remorse was evident, leading to a reduced sentence," and "The sentence reduction system based on letters of remorse, which kills the victim and bereaved family twice, must be abolished."
She also said, "It is a fact known to everyone that a man with a strong build of 180cm height and 72kg weight assaulting a smaller person’s head for an hour and strangling their neck can lead to death."
She questioned, "Yet the prosecution and the court maintain that the perpetrator's charge is injury resulting in death, not murder," and asked, "How can assaulting the head, which is directly linked to life, and strangling the neck more than five times not be considered murder?"
She stated, "The practice of reducing sentences for assault acts without intent to kill must stop now," and "Especially, the crime of injury resulting in death occurring in close relationships such as family and lovers must be abolished."
Ms. A also said, "Our voices are not reaching the court or the prosecution."
She lamented, "We hoped they would listen to our story even for just five minutes, and the child's father requested to testify as a sentencing witness in court, but the court did not allow it, saying many petitions had been submitted."
She said, "I couldn't believe that the petitions from the public who were outraged by this case could instead be used as a reason to limit our rights," and "We demand legal reforms to strengthen the procedural rights of the victim side in criminal trials."
In front of the Tongyeong Branch of the Changwon District Court in Gyeongnam, where the first trial was held, the victim's parents are urging severe punishment by applying charges such as murder to the perpetrator. Photo by Lee Se-ryeong
Ms. A, a bereaved family member of the so-called 'Geoje Dating Violence Death Case,' previously posted a petition titled "Request for Improvement of Systems Related to Dating Violence" before the first trial of the first instance, which gained over 50,000 supporters within four days.
At that time, Ms. A stated in the post, "While I was at the emergency room, the perpetrator was sleeping peacefully at the victim's house, and after our daughter died on the 10th, he was released from emergency arrest on the 11th, socialized and drank with friends on the 13th, and broke up with his girlfriend. He showed no remorse, saying he would study to get into a better university and meet a better girlfriend."
She said, "The perpetrator was only charged with injury resulting in death, trespassing, and stalking," and "Even after causing a person's death, the sentence is only over three years in prison, so he will be in his twenties after serving the sentence."
She urged, "Please pay attention so that appropriate punishment is given and a precedent is set, preventing a second victim," and demanded ▲a complete overhaul of the dating violence investigation manual ▲increased sentencing for assault, injury resulting in death, and stalking among family and lovers ▲and enactment of a dating violence punishment law.
The defendant in this case, Mr. B, a man in his twenties, was indicted and brought to trial for assaulting and strangling his ex-girlfriend, Ms. C, also in her twenties, at her rented room around 8 a.m. on April 1 last year, causing her death while she was receiving hospital treatment.
Ms. C suffered severe injuries from Mr. B's assault, including traumatic subdural hemorrhage, was diagnosed with a six-week recovery period, and was hospitalized but passed away after 10 days due to multiple organ failure caused by sepsis.
The Criminal Division 1 of the Tongyeong Branch of Changwon District Court, presided over by Chief Judge Kim Young-seok, sentenced Mr. B to 12 years in prison for injury resulting in death and ordered him to complete 40 hours of a stalking treatment program.
Both the prosecution, which sought a 20-year sentence, and Mr. B appealed citing unfair sentencing, and the appeal trial is currently underway.
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