First Trial Court:
"An Unprecedented Case...
Greater Responsibility Given Defendant's Profession"
Myung Jaewan (48), a teacher indicted for the murder of first-grade student Kim Haneul (8) at an elementary school in Daejeon, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial.
On October 20, the 12th Criminal Division of the Daejeon District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Byungman) sentenced Myung, who was charged with violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (kidnapping for profit and luring, among others), to life imprisonment.
The court also ordered Myung to wear an electronic location tracking device for 30 years and imposed restrictions, including a ban on approaching the victim's family.
Myung was brought to trial on charges of luring Kim, who was returning home after after-school care at the elementary school where Myung worked on February 10 at around 5 p.m., into the audiovisual room under the pretense of giving her a book, and then stabbing her to death with a weapon prepared in advance.
He was also accused of kicking and damaging a school work computer and assaulting a fellow teacher who suggested they leave work together, four to five days before the crime.
Investigations revealed that Myung suffered from severe abandonment anxiety, feelings of alienation from his family, maladjustment at work, and regret over his hasty early return to work, leading to identity confusion.
He had taken medical leave for depression on December 9 of the previous year, but returned early on December 30 and resumed working at the school from February 3.
Myung reportedly harbored resentment after his workplace was changed to the second-floor teachers' office due to his actions of kicking the work computer and assaulting a colleague. He also felt intense anger after his husband suggested he take additional leave or sick leave, which led him to decide to kill someone at the school.
On the day of the crime, he left the school during lunch to purchase a weapon and preselected the soundproofed audiovisual room as the crime scene, demonstrating that the crime was premeditated.
The court described the case as an unprecedented incident in which the defendant, an elementary school teacher, brutally murdered a seven-year-old student at the school where he worked, and stated that the shock and anger felt by the entire nation were immense, thus sentencing Myung to life imprisonment.
The court stated, "As a teacher, the defendant was in a position to protect the victim, but committed a brutal crime at a school, which should be the safest place and where children and adolescents must receive special protection. The tragedy is heightened by the fact that the victim, who loved school so much, followed her teacher without suspicion and was killed by him."
The court continued, "Even considering there was only one victim, the crime of murdering a seven-year-old child, who should be protected above all else, is extremely heinous compared to other ordinary murder cases. In particular, the defendant's responsibility is even greater given his profession as a teacher."
The court determined that although Myung had depression and other mental illnesses, at the time of the crime he did not lack the ability to distinguish right from wrong or to control his actions.
Even if his abilities were somewhat diminished, the court found it inappropriate to reduce his sentence and did not accept the arguments of diminished capacity presented by Myung and his lawyer.
The fact that Myung prepared the weapon in advance, chose a secluded audiovisual room as the crime scene, waited until the area was deserted, and selected the most easily subdued girl as the target all indicated that he had the ability to control his actions at the time.
The court also explained that Myung's actions after the crime, such as destroying Kim's mobile phone and turning off the lights in the crime scene to avoid detection, further supported this conclusion.
The court ruled, "There is a significant need to inform society to prevent such inhumane and tragic crimes from recurring, and given the high risk of recidivism, there are grounds to impose a heavy sentence permanently isolating the defendant from society."
However, the court added, "It is not necessary to take the defendant's life to prevent recidivism, and even if the defendant is released on parole or otherwise, the electronic monitoring order and imposed restrictions provide some means of preventing recidivism. In light of the degree of responsibility and the purpose of this crime, there are no special circumstances that would clearly justify the death penalty."
Kim Sangnam, an attorney from the law firm YK representing the victim's family, stated, "While we respect the court's decision, it is regrettable that life imprisonment was imposed instead of the death penalty, given the brutality of the crime and the severity of the harm. We plan to express our opinion to the prosecution to appeal the verdict."
The Daejeon Metropolitan Office of Education convened a disciplinary committee for Myung in April and decided on his dismissal. As Myung did not pursue any appeal procedures, the dismissal was finalized.
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