They Were Not Friends... The Brutal Murder of a Friend Involving Group Assault and Perverted Mockery

Beaten to Death with Golf Club and Baseball Bat, Then Mocked by Stripping Underwear
Court: "Victim Harassed to the Extent They Cannot Be Called Friends"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] The details of the crime committed by a group of people in their 20s who brutally bullied and beat a friend to death and then tried to downplay and cover up the crime were revealed through forensic investigation.

The Criminal Division of the Chuncheon District Court Sokcho Branch (Chief Judge An Seok) announced on the 29th, "Defendant Choi was sentenced to 10 years in prison for charges including injury resulting in death, ordered to complete 80 hours of sexual violence treatment program, have personal information disclosed for 15 years, and be restricted from employment in child and youth-related facilities for 2 years."

In the judgment, the court explained the sentencing reason, stating, "He tormented the victim solely for his sadistic pleasure to the extent that they could not be called friends," and "He continuously assaulted the victim over a considerable period, leading to the victim's death."

[Asia Economy DB]

Other defendants besides Choi were each sentenced to 2 years in prison with 3 years probation or 1 year in prison with 2 years probation.

According to the prosecution handling the case, Choi Mo (24) and others verbally abused and repeatedly punched A, a peer they had known since elementary and middle school, in early August last year.

In November of the same year, the defendants woke A, who was sleeping in the back seat of a passenger car, took him outside, and hit his buttocks and legs dozens of times with a golf club.

In December, in front of a PC room in Sokcho City, they violently assaulted A with a golf club, and when A, who had fallen to the ground, tried to get up, they kicked his chest with their feet.

At A's house, Choi, along with friends Kim Mo (24) and Jo Mo (24), drank alcohol and violently assaulted A's face with fists and kicks. When A lost consciousness and collapsed, they stripped off his lower garments and mocked him by pretending to urinate on his face with Choi's genitals, engaging in perverted behavior.

A, who was left unattended for half a day, was eventually taken to the hospital but died from brain hemorrhage and other injuries.

Kim and Jo, who were with Choi at the crime scene, not only did not stop him but handed him the golf club and held A down so he could not escape Choi's assault.

Additional prosecution investigation revealed that besides Choi and the three others, two more perpetrators assaulted A.

Baek Mo (24) and Yoo Mo (24) alternately beat A with a baseball bat in August last year with Choi because A lost at rock-paper-scissors, and they also stripped A's pants while he was drunk and asleep, took full-body photos, and shared them.

The defendants who persistently bullied and assaulted A not only showed no remorse but tried to downplay or hide their crimes. However, through digital forensic analysis of their mobile phones during the prosecution's investigation, the full extent of their crimes, which almost went buried, was revealed.

A's family said, "It is chilling and even disgusting," and pleaded, "We ask for severe punishment so that the defendants fully pay for their crimes and to ease the sorrow of our pitifully deceased younger sibling and the bereaved family even a little."

The prosecution submitted an appeal along with 906 copies of a 2,000-page petition collected by the bereaved family, arguing that "the sentence for Choi and others is too light and unfair."

It is reported that Choi's side also appealed, claiming "the sentence is too heavy and unfair."

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