'Triangle Family Murder' Kim Taehyun Sentenced in First Trial Today... Prosecution Seeks Death Penalty

Suspect Kim Taehyun, accused of breaking into an apartment in Nowon-gu, Seoul, and killing a mother and her two daughters, is being transferred to the prosecution at Dobong Police Station in Seoul on the 9th. Photo by Kang Jinhyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] The first trial verdict for Kim Tae-hyun (25), who was indicted for murdering three women in a mother-daughter relationship at an apartment in Nowon-gu, Seoul, will be announced on the 12th.

The Seoul Northern District Court Criminal Division 13 (Chief Judge Oh Kwon-cheol) will hold the sentencing hearing at 11 a.m. on the same day for Kim, who was detained and indicted on five charges including murder, theft, and special trespassing.

Kim is accused of visiting an apartment in Junggye-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul, on March 23 and sequentially murdering the three women in the mother-daughter family. He committed the crime because A, whom he met through an online game last November, refused to meet and did not respond to his contact.

The prosecution indicted Kim in April on five charges: murder, theft, special trespassing, violation of the Information and Communications Network Act (network intrusion, etc.), and violation of the Minor Offenses Act. Throughout the trial, Kim has claimed that he did not plan to kill A’s family and that the crime was impulsive. From May until the 8th of this month, he submitted a total of 19 letters of apology to the court.

However, the prosecution judged that Kim had thoroughly planned the crime in advance. At the sentencing hearing, the prosecution requested the death penalty, stating, "Considering that the defendant killed three victims and committed other crimes during the process, there is no room to consider any sentence other than the severest punishment."

In his final statement, Kim said, "My heart aches when I think of the deceased in heaven. I will live with a lifelong sense of guilt and a heart of repentance. I am truly sorry to the bereaved family."

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