50s Sentenced to 3 Years in Appeal for Beating Acquaintance to Death During Drunken Fight

Sentence 1 prison term increased from 2 years
Court: "Original sentencing excessively lenient"

Seoul Central District Court / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] A man in his 50s who was charged with causing the death of an acquaintance by repeatedly punching him in a fit of anger after the acquaintance provoked him while intoxicated was sentenced to a longer prison term in the appellate court than in the original trial.

According to the legal community on the 2nd, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Sanghoon Ham) sentenced Jeon Mo (59), who was charged with injury resulting in death, to three years in prison. The first trial had sentenced him to two years. The court stated, "Considering various sentencing factors comprehensively, the original sentence was excessively lenient and unjust," and added, "At the time of the incident, the defendant knew that the victim was significantly intoxicated and had a markedly reduced ability to defend himself, yet he struck the victim's face multiple times hard enough to cause it to tilt backward."

Jeon was brought to trial on charges of causing the death of A (59) after repeatedly punching him in the face following a verbal altercation while drinking together at a restaurant in Bupyeong, Incheon, on December 18 of last year. Investigations revealed that Jeon lost his temper and committed the crime after A, who was intoxicated, kept provoking him. A was struck on the face and jaw, collapsed, and was immediately taken to the hospital but passed away on the 24th of the same month.

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