'Husband and Stepson Murder' Go Yoo-jeong, First Trial Verdict Today... Prosecution Seeks Death Penalty

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Ko Yoo-jeong (37), who was arrested and indicted on charges of murdering her ex-husband and stepson, will receive her first verdict from the court.

The Jeju District Court Criminal Division 2 (Chief Judge Jeong Bong-gi) will deliver the sentence for Ko, who was arrested and indicted on charges of murder, corpse mutilation, and concealment, at 2 p.m. today in courtroom 201.

Ko was tried for stabbing her ex-husband Kang to death with a weapon at a pension in Jocheon-eup, Jeju City, on the afternoon of May 25 last year, then mutilating and disposing of the body (murder, corpse mutilation, concealment). Subsequently, Ko was additionally indicted on charges of murdering her stepson following the ex-husband’s murder.

The prosecution concluded that on the morning of March 2 last year, between 4 and 6 a.m., at her home in Chungbuk, Ko climbed onto the back of her sleeping 5-year-old stepson, turned his head so that his face was buried against the bed, and pressed the back of his head strongly for about 10 minutes, killing him.

At the sentencing hearing last month, the prosecution stated, "The defendant committed an inhumane crime by killing the father (ex-husband) in front of the son, and the son in front of the father (current husband). Both cases stem from an extreme disregard for human life, and she shows no remorse whatsoever," and requested the death penalty for Ko.

Ko denied that the ex-husband’s murder was planned, claiming it was a spontaneous act until the end, and did not admit to all the prosecution’s charges regarding the stepson’s murder. Regarding whether the crime was planned, she said in her final argument, "I wish I could ride a time machine and swap brains with the judge. It is absolutely not true."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.