Man in His 40s Sentenced to Prison for Killing Relative in Delusional State

A man in his 40s who killed a relative while in a state of diminished mental capacity has been sentenced to prison.

According to the legal community on July 26, the 11th Criminal Division of the Seoul Northern District Court (Presiding Judge Lee Dongsik) sentenced Park, a 40-year-old Korean-Chinese man who was tried on charges of murder, to 15 years in prison. The court also ordered treatment and custody (a security measure involving confinement in a treatment facility) and the attachment of an electronic location tracking device for 10 years.

Park was accused of killing the victim, who was his seventh-degree blood relative and also his caregiver, with a weapon around December last year. He was reportedly delusional, believing that the victim did not trust him and was trying to kill him.

In 2012, Park was also acquitted of attempted murder in Japan due to suspected mental disorder.

The court stated, "Murder, which takes away a life, is a heinous crime with devastating consequences, and recovery for the victim is impossible. It appears that the victim, who was the defendant's caregiver, suffered extreme physical and psychological pain during the indiscriminate attack by the defendant."