Hiker Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for 'Random Murder' in His 20s... What Is the Supreme Court's Ruling?

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Supreme Court is set to deliver its final verdict on a man in his 20s who stabbed and killed a stranger with a weapon while hiking in Inje, Gangwon Province. The man was sentenced to life imprisonment in both the first and second trials.

On the 21st, the Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Lee Dongwon) will proceed with the appellate ruling for Lee, who was tried on charges of murder.

Lee was prosecuted for stabbing Han (58) dozens of times with a weapon at the entrance of a hiking trail in Buk-myeon, Inje-gun, on July 11 of last year, resulting in Han's death.

Investigations revealed that Lee had planned a series of murders. Lee stated, "People need to be reminded that they can die from a single act of arrogance or rudeness," and referred to the 'Jang Daeho case,' known as the 'Hangang torso murder case,' as a groundbreaking example.

The first trial court sentenced Lee to life imprisonment and ordered the attachment of an electronic tracking device for 20 years, stating, "This was a senseless murder of a stranger carried out in a cruel manner, making it highly condemnable."

The second trial court upheld the sentence, saying, "The crime is extremely heinous as the defendant killed the victim to satisfy a long-standing, objectively incomprehensible desire to murder and derive pleasure from it."

Lee's claim of mental illness was rejected, with the court noting, "Since late elementary school, he thought killing people was easier than anything else in the world and wanted to make it his profession, nurturing this desire to kill into adulthood. Psychiatric evaluations showed no mental disorder."

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