'Live-in Partner and Taxi Driver' Murder, Lee Ki-young Sentenced to Life Imprisonment (Summary)

Goyang District Court First Trial Verdict, 30-Year Electronic Ankle Bracelet Imposed
Trial for 9 Charges Including Robbery Murder and Corpse Abandonment

The court sentenced Lee Gi-young (32), who was charged with consecutively murdering his cohabiting partner and a taxi driver, to life imprisonment.

The Criminal Division 1 of the Goyang Branch of Uijeongbu District Court (Presiding Judge Choi Jong-won) on the 19th sentenced Lee Gi-young, who was detained and indicted on nine charges including robbery-murder and corpse abandonment, to life imprisonment and ordered him to wear an electronic monitoring device (electronic anklet) for 30 years.

On the morning of January 4th, Ki-young Lee (32), who was arrested on charges of killing his cohabiting partner and a taxi driver at Ilsan Dongbu Police Station in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, is being transferred to the prosecution. Photo by Yonhap News

Lee Gi-young was indicted for killing his former girlfriend A (50), who lived with him at his house in Paju last August, with a blunt weapon and abandoning her body near Gongneungcheon in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

He is also accused of, around 11 p.m. in December of the same year in Goyang City, causing a traffic accident while driving under the influence, then luring taxi driver B (59) to an apartment in Paju by promising to pay a large settlement and repair costs, killing him with a blunt weapon, and hiding the body.

The prosecution added a charge of retaliatory murder, focusing on the possibility that Lee Gi-young, a repeat offender of drunk driving, committed murder to prevent being reported to the police, as he was expected to receive a prison sentence if reported, beyond financial motives.

The court stated, "The defendant brutally killed his cohabiting partner with a blunt weapon according to a meticulous plan and abandoned the body. He lived without any conscience, buying expensive items and enjoying entertainment with the victim’s credit card without remorse," and "Even so, he caused a drunk driving traffic accident four months later, lured the victim to his home, killed him, and abandoned the body."

It added, "The bereaved families are still living in pain with wounds that cannot be healed by anything and are demanding severe punishment," and explained the sentencing reasons, saying, "The defendant’s admission of the crimes and the deposit of 30 million won for the bereaved families are mitigating factors."

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