Son in His 60s Sentenced to 20 Years for Killing Mother in Her 80s on Lunar New Year

Court: "Not Mentally Impaired... Heavy Responsibility"

A man in his 60s who killed his mother in her 80s and mutilated part of her body during the Lunar New Year holiday has been sentenced to a heavy prison term in the first trial.

On May 28, the Gwangju District Court Criminal Division 13 (Presiding Judge Bae Eunchang) sentenced Park (64), who was indicted on charges of parricide, to 20 years in prison.

The court stated, "The defendant claims he was in a diminished mental state due to depression and alcohol consumption, but given the method of the crime and the circumstances before and after the incident, it is difficult to accept this claim," and added, "The defendant bears heavy responsibility for brutally killing the mother who gave birth to and raised him, citing the burden of caring for her as the reason."

Park was brought to trial on charges of beating his mother in her 80s to death multiple times at his home in Hakdong, Dong-gu, Gwangju, at around 12:11 a.m. on January 29, which was Lunar New Year's Day. After the crime, he also mutilated part of his mother's body, and was apprehended by police after a friend who heard about the incident reported it.

During the police investigation, Park stated, "I committed the crime out of despair over having to care for my mother, who was physically disabled."