'Gangnam Abduction and Murder' Lee Kyung-woo and Hwang Dae-han Sentenced to Life Imprisonment... Yeon Ji-ho Receives 25 Years in Prison

'Providing Criminal Funds' Couple Usangwon and Hwang Eunhee Sentenced to 8 and 6 Years in Prison

The main perpetrators of the 'Gangnam kidnapping and murder' case were sentenced to life imprisonment.

On the 25th, the 29th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Seung-jung) sentenced the main perpetrators Lee Kyung-woo (36) and Hwang Dae-han (36), who were detained and indicted on charges including robbery and murder, to life imprisonment.

A trio arrested for kidnapping, murdering, and disposing of the body of a woman in her 40s in Gangnam, Seoul, was transferred to the prosecution on the afternoon of April 9 at the Suseo Police Station in Seoul. From left: Lee Kyung-woo, Hwang Dae-han, Yeon Ji-ho.

The court sentenced accomplice Yeon Ji-ho (30) to 25 years in prison, and the couple Yoo Sang-won (51) and Hwang Eun-hee (49), who conspired with Lee Kyung-woo in the kidnapping and murder and provided criminal funds, to 8 years and 6 years in prison respectively.

Additionally, the court sentenced Lee Kyung-woo’s wife, Heo Mo, who was investigated for diverting and providing psychotropic drugs used in the murder from the hospital where she worked as a nursing assistant, and Lee Mo, an acquaintance of Hwang Dae-han who assisted in the crime by tracking the victim’s movements, to 5 years in prison each.

The court acquitted Hwang Dae-han and Yeon Ji-ho of charges related to violations of the Narcotics Control Act. Lee Kyung-woo, Hwang Dae-han, and Yeon Ji-ho were also placed under a 5-year probation order.

The court stated, "The victim’s family members have expressed that they are deeply shocked and suffering severe pain due to the victim’s death, and they are pleading for strict punishment of the defendants. The victim’s elementary school-aged son will feel lifelong loneliness and loss that no one can easily heal. The victim’s son currently believes that his mother passed away due to COVID-19, but if he ever realizes that his mother was murdered, the shock he would feel is unimaginable."

Wealthy couple Yoo Sang-won and Hwang Eun-hee, who were identified as the masterminds behind the abduction and murder of a woman in her 40s in Gangnam, Seoul, were transferred from the Suseo Police Station in Seoul to the prosecution on the morning of April 13.

Lee Kyung-woo, Hwang Dae-han, and Yeon Ji-ho were arrested and indicted on charges of robbery and murder, attempted robbery, and corpse disposal for kidnapping victim A in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, at around 11:46 p.m. on March 29, killing him the next morning, and secretly burying the body in a mountain near Daecheong Dam in Daejeon.

The couple Yoo Sang-won and Hwang Eun-hee, who were also arrested and indicted, are accused of providing 70 million won in criminal funds following a conflict with victim A over failed cryptocurrency investments, based on Lee Kyung-woo’s proposal to kidnap A, seize cryptocurrency, and kill him in September last year.

At the sentencing hearing held on the 16th, the prosecution requested the death penalty for Lee Kyung-woo, Hwang Dae-han, and the couple Yoo Sang-won and Hwang Eun-hee, and life imprisonment for accomplice Yeon Ji-ho. They requested 5 years and 7 years in prison for Heo and Lee respectively.

The court explained the reason for not imposing the death penalty, stating, "Although the prosecution requested the death penalty, the death sentence, which permanently deprives a human life, should only be exceptionally allowed when there are clear objective circumstances that anyone would recognize as special circumstances that clearly justify it in light of the degree of responsibility for the crime and the purpose of punishment."

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