Supreme Court Finalizes Acquittal in 20-Year-Old 'Farmers' Association Murder Case'

Supreme Court Acquits Man in His 60s
in Yeongwol Cold Case Murder After 20 Years

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The Supreme Court has finalized a not-guilty verdict for a man in his 60s who had been identified as the suspect in the "Yeongwol Farmers' Association Murder Case," a cold case that remained unsolved for 20 years.

On December 11, the Supreme Court's Third Division, presided over by Justice Lee Sukyeon, dismissed the prosecutor's appeal in the murder case against the defendant in his 60s and upheld the previous court’s acquittal.

The case dates back to August 9, 2004, when a 41-year-old victim was found dead with multiple stab wounds at the Farmers' Association office in Yeongwol County, Gangwon Province. Immediately after the crime, a different individual was initially referred to the prosecution as a suspect, but after three supplementary investigations were requested, the case remained unsolved for years.

In 2014, investigators reopened the case and, based on the National Forensic Service’s findings-which indicated a 99.9% match between a "bloodstained sandal footprint" found at the crime scene and the sole of Mr. A’s sandal-prosecuted an individual in November 2020.

The first trial court stated, "The possibility that a third party wore the sandals at the estimated time of the crime is extremely low, and no evidence has been submitted to support such a possibility," sentencing the defendant to life imprisonment.

However, the appellate court overturned the first verdict, concluding that the crucial evidence-the bloodstained footprint and the defendant’s sandal-did not match. The appellate judges noted that, out of five footprint analyses, two could not confirm a match. They also stated, "Even among the three analyses that identified individual features suggesting a match, the number of distinguishing points identified varied among the experts." The court concluded, "With only footprint analysis and no supplementary evidence such as fingerprints or DNA, the footprint analysis alone is insufficient to identify the defendant as the perpetrator."

The Supreme Court ruled that the appellate court’s decision did not violate the principles of logic or experience, nor did it exceed the limits of free evaluation of evidence, and thus upheld the acquittal.