Supreme Court Confirms 25-Year Sentence for 70-Year-Old Woman Who Killed, Dismembered, and Abandoned Body After Religious Propagation Activities

Supreme Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Supreme Court has upheld a heavy sentence for a man in his 70s who murdered a woman engaged in religious missionary activities, mutilated her body, and abandoned the corpse.

On the 22nd, the Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Park Jeonghwa) announced that it upheld the lower court's ruling sentencing Mr. A, a man in his 70s charged with murder and corpse abandonment, to 25 years in prison.

In December 2019, Mr. A strangled Ms. B, a woman in her 50s conducting missionary work at his home in Ulsan, killed her, mutilated the body, and then abandoned it in a deserted redevelopment area residential neighborhood.

About a month before the incident, Mr. A tried to gain favor with Ms. B, whom he had just met, by giving her money under the pretext of prayer fees or memorial service fees, but on the day of the incident, when Ms. B said she needed 2 million won for prayer fees, Mr. A gave her 1 million won in cash. Upon hearing her question, "Why are you only giving me 1 million won?" he became enraged and committed the crime, according to the investigation.

The first trial sentenced Mr. A to 25 years in prison. The trial court pointed out, "The consequences of the crime are very serious, and the method was brutal. In particular, the defendant appeared to have acted calmly and meticulously to conceal the crime."

It added, "Although he claims to reflect on his crime, he continues to blame the victim, raising doubts about his remorse. He made no effort to comfort the bereaved family, who are petitioning for a severe punishment," the court stated. Mr. A appealed the verdict, but the second trial dismissed the appeal.

The Supreme Court also agreed with this judgment. The court stated, "It cannot be said that the first trial's ruling sentencing the defendant to 25 years in prison, which the lower court upheld, is seriously unjust," and dismissed Mr. A's appeal.

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