'Kimcheon Officetel Murder' Yang Jeong-ryeol Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in First Trial

Court: "Must Be Isolated From Society for Inhumane Crime"

Yang Jeong-ryeol (32), who killed a same-age male stranger in an officetel in Gimcheon and even took out a loan using the victim's fingerprints, was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Defendant Yang Jeong-ryeol in the Gimcheon officetel murder case. Daegu District Prosecutors' Office Gimcheon Branch website

On the 15th, the Criminal Division 1 of the Gimcheon Branch of Daegu District Court (Presiding Judge Han Dong-seok) sentenced defendant Yang, who was indicted and detained on charges including robbery and murder, to life imprisonment and ordered electronic monitoring for 20 years.

Yang was charged with killing victim A (31), whom he had never met, in an officetel in Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk, last November, and then taking out a loan of 60 million won using the victim's fingerprints. At the time, he reportedly pretended to be a security guard and deceived the victim into opening the front door of his residence by saying he would check the card key, then committed the crime.

Yang, who was injured during the crime, received hospital treatment using A's ID card and credit card, and went on the run for a week, spending several million won at convenience stores and lodging facilities. During this time, he also impersonated the victim by sending text messages from A's phone to A's parents, saying "not at home."

Additionally, Yang had checked who lived where in the officetel the day before the crime, thoroughly planned the murder by searching for tools in advance, and ordered necessary items online, according to the investigation.

The court stated, "The defendant committed an inhumane crime by using an irreplaceable person's life as a means to gain economic benefit," adding, "The victim, a young man, was killed by the defendant, whom he neither resented nor knew, ending his life, and the defendant caused unimaginable harm to the bereaved family and acquaintances."

It continued, "We cannot help but consider a severe punishment commensurate with the defendant's cruel and heartless crime," and explained the sentencing reason, "To permanently isolate the defendant from society, we impose the second heaviest punishment after the death penalty."

Earlier, the prosecution had requested the death penalty, the highest legal punishment, for Yang at the sentencing hearing held in March.