Court Sentences Chosun to Life Imprisonment in First Trial for 'Shillim-dong Weapon Rampage'

Chosun, who was charged with swinging a weapon at strangers in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, causing four casualties, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial.

Chosun, who was indicted for injuring four people by wielding a weapon at pedestrians in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Criminal Division 32-2 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judges Jo Seung-woo, Bang Yoon-seop, Kim Hyun-soon) sentenced Cho, who was detained and indicted on charges of murder, attempted murder, and theft, to life imprisonment on the 31st. They also ordered the attachment of an electronic location tracking device for 30 years.

The court stated, "The crime was committed in an extremely cruel and brutal manner," and added, "The public who saw the video or heard the news were engulfed in fear, causing a significant social impact, and it resulted in the triggering of imitation and similar crimes across the country."

Cho was detained and indicted on charges of killing a man in his 20s and injuring three men in their 30s by wielding a weapon in Sillim-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, in July of last year. On the same day, he is also accused of stealing two kitchen knives from a mart located in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, for the crime, and riding a taxi without paying for transportation.

At the sentencing hearing held on the 10th, the prosecution demanded the death penalty, the highest sentence in court, stating, "The cruel method of planning and executing murder simply out of anger and inferiority toward society and himself, along with multiple violent crime records, provides abundant grounds for severe punishment."

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