"To Relieve Stress"... 40s Man Sentenced for 'Random Assault on Young Women'

Cheongju District Court Sentences 3 Years in Prison on Appeal
"Considering Mental Instability"

A man in his 40s who attempted to assault or kill young women he encountered on the street with a blunt weapon to relieve stress was sentenced to prison again in the appellate court.

The Criminal Appeals Division 1 of Cheongju District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Seong-sik) announced on the 31st that it dismissed both the appeals of the man in his 40s, Mr. A, who was charged with attempted murder and special injury, and the prosecution, upholding the original sentence of three years in prison.

On May 29 at around 2:15 p.m., Mr. A struck the head of an unfamiliar female middle school student waiting at a crosswalk in Yeonsu-dong, Chungju, Chungbuk Province, with a beverage can, causing injuries requiring one week of medical treatment. He is also accused of assaulting the heads of other female high school students and women in their 20s he encountered on the street in the Chungju area in the same manner over several days.

[Photo by Yonhap News]

Following the assaults, Mr. A decided to kill women in their teens and twenties. On June 8, while wandering the streets swinging a weapon in the air and scratching walls, he was urgently arrested by police who responded to a passerby’s report. It was confirmed that Mr. A has a history of mental illness. During police interrogation, he reportedly stated, "I intended to assault or kill women with a weapon to relieve stress." He believed that women were less diligent and physically weaker than men, making them easy targets, and chose young women as victims to vent his anger and stress.

Mr. A claimed that he committed the crimes in a state of diminished responsibility due to mental illness, but both the first trial and the appellate court rejected this claim.

The appellate court stated, "Considering that the defendant targeted young and vulnerable women whom he thought could not chase him, and that he hesitated when actually trying to stab, it appears he made a somewhat rational judgment at the time. The original ruling that he was not in a state of diminished capacity to make decisions is justified." The court also pointed out, "The young victims will likely require significant time and effort to regain stability, and random attacks cause great social anxiety, necessitating severe punishment."

Furthermore, the court explained the reason for upholding the original ruling by saying, "However, the defendant’s mental instability due to mental illness and lack of prior criminal record are considered favorable circumstances, so the prosecution’s appeal is also dismissed."

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