Violent Offender with 28 Convictions Kills Acquaintance 5 Months After Release... Supreme Court Sentences to Life Imprisonment

A man in his 60s who stabbed and killed an acquaintance with a weapon just five months after being released from prison for a special injury crime has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

The court judged that the defendant, who has a total of 37 criminal records (including 13 imprisonments) with 28 violent crime convictions, showed no remorse and needs to be permanently isolated from society.

Supreme Court, Seocho-dong, Seoul.

According to the legal community on the 14th, the Supreme Court’s 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Oh Seok-jun) upheld the original sentence of life imprisonment for Park Mo (64), who was charged with murder.

Park was prosecuted for stabbing his acquaintance A (then 63 years old), whom he spotted drinking with a group at a neighboring table while he was drinking at a live cafe in Chuncheon on the evening of February 14 last year. He stabbed A six times in the left chest and left flank with a butcher knife (total length 30cm, blade length 15cm) that he had purchased for use at a restaurant run by his wife, resulting in A’s death.

It was investigated that Park committed this crime because A had argued with his wife over restaurant repair issues and had hit her while Park was serving a prison sentence at Chuncheon Prison for a special injury crime.

Park had been sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison for special injury in July 2021 and was released in September the following year, making this incident occur about five months after his release and during his probation period.

The first trial court sentenced Park to life imprisonment and ordered him to wear an electronic location tracking device for 10 years.

The court stated, "The defendant not only tried to flee after committing this crime but also subtly blamed the victim during interviews with the police and probation office, rationalizing his actions and showing concern primarily for his own safety. Although the defendant verbally expresses remorse in this courtroom, it is difficult to see that he truly reflects on his crime."

Additionally, the court noted, "The victim’s eldest son witnessed the victim’s death at the scene, and the severe psychological trauma and wounds caused by this are unlikely to heal throughout his lifetime. The defendant has not been forgiven by the victim’s family, and the victim’s children are seeking a severe punishment for the defendant."

Finally, the court explained the reason for the life sentence: "Even considering some favorable circumstances for the defendant, it is no longer possible to grant him any opportunity to freely mingle with the healthy citizens of our society based on vague or theoretical assumptions that he will not reoffend after serving a considerable period of imprisonment and release. The life sentence aims to ensure that the defendant genuinely repents through lifelong incarceration, permanently isolates him from society to achieve the retributive purpose of punishment, and maintains social safety and order."

Park appealed on grounds of excessive sentencing, but the appeal was rejected.

At the time of the incident, Park claimed that he only approached A with a knife intending to threaten him, but A mistakenly thought Park was trying to harm him and tried to subdue him, so Park stabbed A impulsively in self-defense.

However, the second trial court pointed out, "The CCTV footage from the day of the incident shows that when the victim saw the defendant approaching with a knife, he stood up to grab the defendant, but the defendant immediately started stabbing the victim. The victim collapsed from the shock of being stabbed, and when he tried to get up while holding the defendant, the defendant stabbed him again. The defendant stabbed the victim six times, and despite the victim wearing a winter padded jacket, the knife penetrated the victim’s lungs and heart."

It continued, "The defendant only stopped and dropped the knife after strong intervention from bystanders. The defendant’s claim that he stabbed the victim impulsively due to being overpowered by the victim’s mistaken response is not convincing."

Park filed another appeal, but the Supreme Court found no problem with the second trial’s judgment.

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