'Barikan Assault Man' Sentenced to 7 Years in First Trial, Appeals Claiming "Unfair"... Prosecution Also Appeals, Moving to Second Trial

'Barikan Assault Man' Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison, Appeals
1st Trial Court Recognizes All Prosecutor's Charges
Prosecution: "Denies Most Crimes... No Sign of Remorse"

Kim Mo (26), the so-called 'Barikan Assault Man' who was sentenced to 7 years in prison in the first trial for detaining his girlfriend, abusing her in a bizarre manner, and sexually assaulting her, was sentenced to 7 years in prison in the first trial. Kim has expressed his intention to appeal the verdict.

The appearance of Ms. A, who was confined in an officetel by her ex-boyfriend, raped, had her head shaved, and subjected to torture-level abuse.
[Photo by MBC 'True Story Exploration Team' broadcast screen capture]

On the 6th, the Uijeongbu District Court Namyangju Branch announced that Kim, who was indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, submitted an appeal through his lawyer on the 5th. It is reported that Kim appealed on the grounds of unfair sentencing.

Earlier, in July of last year, Kim detained his girlfriend A (21 years old) at an officetel in Guri, Gyeonggi Province, and raped her multiple times. Kim's crimes did not stop there; he is accused of torturing A to the point of counting numbers while being beaten, cutting her hair with a barikan, urinating on her face, and forcing her to kneel naked. Kim had been dating A for about a year and a half and is known to have canceled A's savings to contract the officetel. A sent a text message saying "Save me" while Kim was asleep, and was rescued by police who responded to the report.

However, Kim denied most of the charges in court. He claimed, "A stayed at the officetel on her own and went out alone, and we had consensual sexual relations," admitting only some of the assaults and asserting that the sexual assault and threats were matters agreed upon with A.

Nevertheless, the first trial court rejected Kim's claims, found all the prosecution's charges to be true, and sentenced him to 7 years in prison. The court also ordered him to complete 80 hours of sexual violence treatment programs and restricted his employment in institutions related to children, adolescents, and the disabled for 5 years. The court explained the sentencing by stating, "A probably could not resist much due to fear that Kim might harm her family and pets," and "A's testimony is credible as it has distinctive characteristics that cannot be known without experience."

The prosecution, which had sought a 10-year sentence, also filed an appeal against the first trial verdict on the 2nd. The prosecution explained, "Kim suddenly deposited 150 million won before sentencing, but A did not accept it, so the damage was not restored," and "He denies most of the crimes and shows no signs of remorse, so we appealed believing that a sentence commensurate with the crime should be imposed."

Meanwhile, the victim's parents recently appealed for severe punishment in an online community, saying, "Kim insulted and threatened our daughter with obscene words that cannot even be spoken, including 'Anyway, my family is rich and you have no money, so even if you hire a fancy lawyer and live long, it will only be 1 to 2 years. How could I not do something to you? Whether the police come or your parents come, I will follow you to the end and kill you, and even the police cannot protect you.'"

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