22 Dead in 'Jinju Arson Murder' by Ahn In-deuk... Supreme Court Confirms Life Sentence

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The Supreme Court has confirmed a life sentence for Ahn Indeuk, who was tried on charges of setting fire to an apartment in Jinju, Gyeongnam, and killing residents. The Supreme Court recognized Ahn's diminished mental capacity.

On the 29th, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Kim Jae-hyung) announced that it upheld the original sentence of life imprisonment in the appeal trial of Ahn, who was charged with murder and other offenses.

Ahn is accused of setting fire to an apartment in Jinju, Gyeongnam, in the early morning of April 17 last year and stabbing residents who were evacuating. After setting fire to his own home, Ahn wielded a knife on residents fleeing via the emergency stairs, injuring them. In this process, five residents died and 17 were injured.

The first trial was conducted as a jury trial, and based on the jurors' opinions, Ahn was sentenced to death. At that time, nine jurors deliberated for two hours, with eight voting for the death penalty and one for life imprisonment. The first trial did not recognize Ahn's diminished mental capacity.

However, the second trial recognized his diminished mental capacity and sentenced Ahn to life imprisonment. The second trial court explained, "Considering Ahn Indeuk's statements and behavior during police investigation, clinical psychology, and psychiatric evaluation, he was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the crime."

On this day, the Supreme Court also ruled that the lower court's judgment recognizing Ahn's diminished mental capacity was not erroneous in law or fact.

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