Law "What is the meaning of a reflection letter..." Sindang Station murderer sentenced to life imprisonment in the second trial

"There is a fundamental question as to what meaning the defendant's letter of remorse holds, and whether he is still sincerely reflecting on his crimes." (Second trial court)

Jeon Juhwan (32, male), who murdered a coworker and subway staff member at Sindang Station whom he had been stalking, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the second trial. The sentence in the first trial was a total of 49 years in prison.

‘Sindang Station Stalking Murderer' Jeon Juhwan is being transferred from Namdaemun Police Station detention center in Jung-gu, Seoul to the prosecution on September 21 last year. Photo by Mun Honam munonam@

On the 11th, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 12-2 (Presiding Judge Jin Hyunmin, Judges Kim Hyungbae and Kim Gillyang) sentenced Jeon Juhwan to life imprisonment in the appeal trial on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (retaliatory murder), the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Sexual Crimes (coercion using filmed materials), and the Stalking Punishment Act, stating, "It is appropriate for him to truly repent his wrongdoings through a life of incarceration isolated from society, and to live with a lifelong heart of atonement toward the victim and their bereaved family." He was also ordered to complete 40 hours of stalking treatment and sexual violence treatment programs, and to wear an electronic monitoring device (electronic anklet) for 15 years.

The court stated, "He committed heinous crimes repeatedly during the intervention of public authority and trial proceedings in retaliation for the victim's rightful reports and accusations," and "He mercilessly trampled on human dignity and value by going to the victim's workplace and killing an innocent victim."

Regarding the letters of remorse that Jeon Juhwan continuously submitted, the court pointed out, "Although he submitted multiple letters of remorse to investigative agencies and the first trial after stalking and other crimes, he proceeded to retaliatory murder, raising doubts about the meaning of these letters." Furthermore, "Given that he committed antisocial and heinous crimes without hesitation, the risk of reoffending is high. There is also considerable doubt about the possibility of future rehabilitation."

However, the court added, "Life imprisonment is also a very severe punishment that isolates the defendant from society forever without taking life. It cannot be clearly concluded that there are special circumstances justifying the death penalty for the defendant," and, as in the first trial, rejected the prosecutor's request to impose the death penalty.

Immediately after the ruling, the bereaved family expressed their respect for the court's judgment. Attorney Min Goeun, representing the family, said, "More than 27,000 citizens petitioned for severe punishment. We deeply thank the many citizens who mourned together and petitioned for strict punishment," and added, "We hope that through today's ruling, other similar victims will no longer die."

Previously, Jeon Juhwan was accused of continuously stalking and threatening a woman in her 20s, a coworker he met at Seoul Metro in 2019, by illegally filming her. In particular, when the trial date for the stalking and illegal filming case, for which the victim had reported and which was expected to result in imprisonment, was set, he is accused of going to Sindang Station on Seoul Subway Line 2, the victim's workplace, on September 14 last year and retaliatorily murdering her with a weapon in the women's restroom.

Especially, from August 18, the day of the final hearing for the stalking case, until the day of the crime, he prepared for the crime in advance by checking the victim's address and work information four times through the company's internal computer network, among other means. He also showed meticulousness by installing an app to interfere with location tracking on his mobile phone, purchasing disposable transportation cards with cash, and wearing anti-slip gloves and a hair cap.

He was sentenced to 9 years in prison on August 29 of the same year in the first trial for stalking and illegal filming charges after the victim's death. The first trial for the retaliatory murder charge sentenced him to 40 years in prison in February. These trials were consolidated in the appeal trial.

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