Life Sentence Finalized for Man in His 50s Who Murdered YouTuber During Livestream in Retaliation

A man in his 50s who murdered a YouTuber with a weapon, with whom he had a history of conflict, has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

On July 29, the Supreme Court's Third Division (Presiding Justice Noh Kyungpil) announced that it had finalized last month the lower court's ruling sentencing Hong (age 56) to life imprisonment on charges including retaliatory murder under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.

Previously, on May 9 of last year, Hong murdered a YouTuber with a weapon in front of the Busan District Court Complex in Yeonje-gu, Busan, while the victim was livestreaming, then fled the scene before being apprehended. Hong and the victim had been in conflict, having produced similar content and filed approximately 200 lawsuits and complaints against each other since 2023.

On the day of the incident, Hong committed the crime to prevent the victim, who had accused him of assault, from testifying, according to the investigation.

In November last year, the court of first instance recognized that Hong had murdered the victim for retaliatory purposes, sentenced him to life imprisonment, and ordered the attachment of an electronic location tracking device for 10 years. At the time, the first-instance court stated, "Retaliatory crimes not only infringe on individual legal interests but also hinder the exercise of the state's penal authority, making them highly blameworthy and necessitating a strict response. At the time of the crime, the victim was conducting a YouTube live broadcast, and the incident was broadcast live, causing great shock and fear among many citizens," explaining the reasoning behind the sentence.

Hong appealed the first-instance ruling, but both the appellate court and the Supreme Court found no error in the judgment.