Prosecutors Uncover 'Premeditated Robbery-Murder' Through Supplementary Investigation... Life Sentence in First Trial

The prosecution revealed through supplementary investigation that a case involving a man in his 30s, initially sent on charges of accidental murder, was actually a planned robbery-murder. All charges were admitted, and the man was sentenced to life imprisonment.

On the 17th, the Criminal Division 3 of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kwon Hyun-yu) announced that through supplementary investigation of A (39, male), a loan shark who was detained and sent on murder charges, the indictment was changed to robbery-murder and fraud charges, all of which were recognized as guilty by the court on the 10th. A was sentenced to life imprisonment and probation.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

A was sent to the Yeongdeungpo Police Station last October on charges of accidentally killing the victim, B, a man who failed to repay a debt worth approximately 2.7 billion won. The prosecution, which took over the case, conducted supplementary investigations from October 26 last year to February 1 this year, including searches of four locations such as A’s office, digital forensic analysis of mobile phones, transaction history analysis of accounts used by A, and analysis of recorded phone calls and KakaoTalk messages.

Through the supplementary investigation, the prosecution uncovered that A was actually burdened with a debt of about 2.85 billion won to B and, finding it difficult to bear, lured the victim to an underground parking lot and deliberately killed him. According to the prosecution, most of the financial transactions between A and B were conducted in cash, and A exploited the lack of special documentary evidence.

The prosecution initially indicted A on murder charges in December last year due to the expiration of the detention period, then amended the indictment to robbery-murder during the first trial on February 1 based on the facts revealed in the supplementary investigation. Additionally, it was found that A defrauded B’s younger brother of 107 million won by promising a high interest rate, and fraud charges were also added.

On the 10th, the Seoul Southern District Court recognized all charges of robbery-murder and fraud against A and sentenced him to life imprisonment and probation. However, the electronic monitoring order was dismissed because it was difficult to conclude a risk of reoffending, and the prosecution has filed an appeal against this decision.

The prosecution stated, "We actively proceeded with victim support procedures, including providing living expenses in cooperation with the prosecutor’s office having jurisdiction over the victim’s family residence," and added, "We will thoroughly carry out the prosecution in the appeal trial and respond strictly to violent crimes."

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