Supreme Court Sentences Gang to Heavy Prison Terms for Killing Investor by Staging Traffic Accident to Demand Investment Refund

Supreme Court En Banc. / Provided by the Supreme Court

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] A heavy sentence was confirmed for a group who disguised a traffic accident to murder investors after it was revealed that they received more investment funds than the actual transaction amount.

The Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Min Yoo-sook) announced on the 1st that it upheld the original sentences of 20 years imprisonment for Seok, 18 years imprisonment for Kim, and 10 years imprisonment for Jung in the final appeal trial of Seok, Kim, and Jung, who were charged with murder.

The court stated regarding Seok and Kim's claims of excessive sentencing, "The sentencing of the lower court cannot be considered seriously unfair."

Regarding Kim's claim that there was "no intent to murder," the court pointed out, "This is a claim raised for the first time in the final appeal without being raised as a reason for appeal or being subject to trial in the lower court, and thus does not constitute a valid reason for appeal."

Regarding the prosecutor's appeal that Jung's sentence was excessively light, the court dismissed the appeal, stating, "According to the interpretation of Article 383, Clause 4 of the Criminal Procedure Act, when a death sentence, life imprisonment, or imprisonment or detention of 10 years or more is imposed, the prosecutor cannot appeal on the grounds that the sentence is excessively light."

Jung, who was the representative of an apartment complex in Yangsan City, Gyeongsangnam-do, gained favor with the victim Lee, another representative of the same apartment, in May 2016 by claiming to have increased his wealth through real estate investment, and introduced Lee to Seok, who was engaged in real estate brokerage in Dongnae-gu, Busan.

Seok received 1.165 billion KRW from Lee under the pretext of investing in land around Busan and Gyeongnam, but this amount was inflated by more than 100 million KRW compared to the actual transaction.

In December 2018, upon discovering this, Lee demanded Jung and Seok return the investment funds. They also threatened to reveal their extramarital affair to others if the funds were not returned.

Eventually, Lee filed a fraud complaint against the two, and after receiving a real estate mortgage and agreeing on ownership transfer from them, withdrew the complaint.

However, judging it difficult to keep such promises, Jung and Seok conspired to kill Lee or render him a vegetative state by disguising it as a traffic accident.

They involved Kim, whom Seok knew personally, by promising to pay him 23 million KRW, and meticulously prepared for the crime by scouting the crime scene and rehearsing while communicating via burner phones.

On the morning of April 5, 2019, at the Sinmyeong-ro intersection in Yangsan City, Kim and others waited for the victim Lee to pass by, then struck Lee, who was crossing the intersection, with a Sonata vehicle without braking, continuing to drive about 17 meters.

Lee, who was thrown onto the vehicle, fell to the ground and fell into an unconscious state due to diffuse axonal injury of the brain nerves.

In the first trial, Seok and Kim were sentenced to 20 years and 18 years imprisonment respectively, and Jung was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.

The victim Lee, who had been unconscious, died from hypotensive shock on November 19, 2019, one day before the first trial sentencing of Seok and Kim. The prosecution requested to change the charges from attempted murder to murder in the appeal trial, which the court accepted.

The appellate court recognized the three defendants' guilt for murder but maintained the sentences from the first trial.

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