Park Hakseon (66), who was accused of murdering a mother and daughter in an officetel in Gangnam, Seoul, has been sentenced to life imprisonment with the sentence now finalized.
According to the legal community on August 8, the Supreme Court's First Division (presiding justice Noh Taeak) upheld the lower court's ruling that sentenced Park Hakseon to life imprisonment on charges of murder.
In May last year, Park Hakseon was notified of a breakup by a woman in her 60s, identified as A, whom he had been dating, after her family opposed their relationship. In response, Park stated that he would confirm this directly with A's daughter, identified as B. He then went up to their office, killed B, and subsequently chased after A, who was attempting to flee, and killed her as well. He was indicted on these charges.
The court of first instance sentenced Park to life imprisonment. Both the prosecution and the defendant appealed, but the appellate court dismissed both appeals and upheld the original sentence. The appellate court stated, "The motive for the crime is highly blameworthy; it appears that the defendant had already decided to kill the victims and committed the crime in a premeditated manner; the method of the crime was extremely brutal; and the victims' families are likely to have suffered irreparable psychological trauma and pain. These factors were all taken into consideration."
The Supreme Court also found no fault in the lower court's decision and dismissed the final appeal. The bench stated, "Even after considering the circumstances cited by the defendant as grounds for appeal, it cannot be said that the lower court's decision to uphold the sentence of the court of first instance was grossly unjust."
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