[Comprehensive] "Must kill 200 people" - Diary of a 20s hiker random murder suspect revealed

Court Sentences Life Imprisonment in First Trial
"Long-standing hostility toward unspecified many... desire to kill"
Diary states 'I have the right to kill others'
Developed killing desire in elementary school... targeted victims since senior year
Letter of remorse to court: "Due to family environment and parents"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] A man in his 20s who stabbed and killed a 50-year-old female hiker he had never met before multiple times with a weapon in Inje, Gangwon Province, was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Criminal Division 2 of Chuncheon District Court (Presiding Judge Jin Won-du) sentenced Lee Mo (23), who was indicted on charges of murder, to life imprisonment on the 6th and ordered him to wear an electronic tracking device (electronic anklet) for 20 years.

The court stated the sentencing reasons, saying, "The defendant has shown hostility toward an unspecified large number of people for a long time, an extreme disregard for human life, and a firm and persistent desire to kill. Even though his childhood home environment was somewhat unfortunate, considering the motive and circumstances of the crime, the means and results, and the victims' families' petitions for severe punishment as revealed through his diary, a severe punishment corresponding to the guilt is necessary."

Entrance to the Inje hiking trail where the 'random murder' incident occurred [Image source=Yonhap News]

The court pointed out the hostility toward an unspecified number of people and the disregard for human life revealed in his diary on that day.

According to the court, his diary contained entries such as "Most people are rude," "I have the right to judge others and kill them all," and "I will kill indiscriminately, but basically, I need to kill 100 to 200 people."

The diary also described murder devices he devised himself, scenes of killing people, and scenes of removing organs from a military comrade as tools.

Combining the trial and Lee’s diary on that day, Lee’s desire to kill began when he was in the upper grades of elementary school. He actually looked for murder targets around his third year of high school to his first year of university.

After that, Lee specifically depicted methods and timing of murder. He also relieved his desire to kill by watching actual murder videos found on the internet.

Having harbored a desire to kill due to hostility toward an unspecified large number of people for such a long time, Lee eventually put it into action.

On July 11th, Lee stabbed Han Mo (58), who had come to pick mushrooms at the entrance of a hiking trail in Buk-myeon, Inje-gun, 49 times with a weapon and killed him. He was then urgently arrested by the police at his home around 11 p.m. the same day.

Lee, who was subsequently brought to trial, submitted a "letter of remorse" to the court once.

However, in the letter of remorse, instead of expressing regret for his actions, Lee wrote about his unfortunate childhood home environment and blamed his parents.

The court said, "The defendant has shown no remorse, minimal guilt, or attitude of reflection toward the victim from the investigation agency to the courtroom. Rather, he shows a somewhat self-pitying attitude through the letter of remorse."

It added, "Even though the defendant’s childhood home environment was somewhat unfortunate, considering the motive and circumstances of the crime, the means and results, and the victims’ families’ petitions for severe punishment as revealed through the defendant’s diary, a severe punishment corresponding to the guilt is necessary."

In the previous sentencing hearing, the prosecution requested, "The defendant planned the crime for a long time, and the nature of the murder is also bad, so it is necessary to permanently isolate him from society," and asked for the death penalty, the highest sentence in court.

At that time, when the court asked, "Do you have any last words?" Lee briefly replied, "I have nothing to say."

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