'Triangle Family Murder' Kim Taehyun Sentenced to Life Imprisonment... "Planned Crime, Not Impulsive Act" (Comprehensive)

'Three Women Murder' Kim Taehyun Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in First Trial
Court: "Difficult to Conclude Objective Circumstances Justify Death Penalty"
'Accidental Crime' Claim Rejected... "Reasonable to View as Planned"
Prosecution Seeks Death Penalty... Considering Appeal

Suspect Kim Taehyun, accused of breaking into an apartment in Nowon-gu, Seoul, and killing three women of the same family, 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] Kim Tae-hyun (25), who was arrested and indicted on charges of murdering three women in a mother-daughter trio at an apartment in Nowon-gu, Seoul, was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Criminal Division 13 of the Seoul Northern District Court (Presiding Judge Oh Kwon-cheol) held a sentencing hearing on the morning of the 12th for Kim, who was arrested and indicted on five charges including murder, theft, and special residential intrusion, and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

The court stated, "The defendant brutally murdered the three women in their residence, which was their sanctuary, consecutively. Violating human life, the most sacred value protected by law, is an unforgivable serious crime regardless of the reason," and added, "The pain of the bereaved family is difficult to imagine for those who have not experienced it directly, and considering this, the opinion that the defendant should be sentenced to death can be seen as understandable."

However, the court also said, "Nevertheless, the court must consider the strictness of the sentence and the sentencing consistency with similar cases," and continued, "Considering that the defendant has no criminal record exceeding a fine, submitted a letter of remorse, expressed apologies to the victims and their families in court, and the sentencing consistency with other serious cases, it is difficult to conclude that there are objective circumstances that would justify depriving the defendant of life."

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 trio. He committed this 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 including murder, theft, special residential intrusion, violation of the Information and Communications Network Act (information 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 remorse to the court.

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 crime, there is no room to consider any sentence other than the severest punishment."

The first trial court also judged, "It is difficult to see that the defendant did not plan to kill the family in advance and that the killings occurred impulsively during the crime," and added, "Considering statements during integrated psychological analysis that although the defendant did not initially intend to kill all, he thought he could kill if resisted, it is reasonable to conclude that the plan at the time of the incident included threatening the victims with a weapon and killing them if necessary."

Family members attending the sentencing hearing sighed deeply when the life imprisonment sentence was announced. Some relatives wept and protested to the court, shouting, "Please impose the death penalty," "We plead with the judge," and "After killing five people, I will die too."

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