'Gangnam Abduction and Murder' Main Perpetrators Lee Kyung-woo and Hwang Dae-han Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in Second Trial

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

Gangnam kidnapping and murder trio. From the left: Lee Kyung-woo, Hwang Dae-han, Yeon Ji-ho.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Seoul High Court Criminal Division 7 (Presiding Judges Lee Jae-kwon, Song Mi-kyung, Kim Seul-gi) on the 12th sentenced the main defendants Lee Kyung-woo (36) and Hwang Dae-han (36) to life imprisonment on charges including robbery and murder.

The court stated, "The violation of life, the most dignified value, is a serious crime that cannot be tolerated under any circumstances," and added, "Lee Kyung-woo and Hwang Dae-han have consistently made excuses by shifting responsibility to each other and claiming they did not intend to kill the victim, showing no genuine remorse."

It continued, "It is difficult to imagine the extreme fear the victim must have felt when suddenly kidnapped by strangers in the heart of Seoul, leading to death," and said, "The bereaved family is expressing profound pain and pleading for severe punishment, and the lifelong loneliness and sense of loss that the victim's young child will endure cannot be healed by anyone."

As for the couple Yoo Sang-won (52) and Hwang Eun-hee (50), who were identified as masterminds behind the crime, they were sentenced to 8 years and 6 years in prison respectively, as the murder charges were not recognized, consistent with the first trial.

The court judged, "Considering objective and indirect evidence comprehensively, it is determined that the defendants conspired to commit robbery," but added, "However, it is difficult to acknowledge that they conspired to commit robbery-murder as the prosecution claims."

Yeon Ji-ho (31), who participated in the kidnapping and murder but confessed to the crime, was sentenced to 23 years in prison, reflecting the fact that he reached a settlement with the victim's side. The first trial had sentenced him to 25 years.

Lee Kyung-woo, Hwang Dae-han, and Yeon Ji-ho were arrested and indicted on charges of robbery-murder, attempted robbery, and corpse abandonment for kidnapping victim A in a car at 11:46 p.m. on March 29 last year in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, killing the victim 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, according to Lee Kyung-woo's proposal to kidnap A in September 2022 to seize cryptocurrency and kill him.

In the appellate trial's closing arguments on the 11th of last month, the prosecution requested the death penalty for Lee Kyung-woo, Hwang Dae-han, Yoo Sang-won, and Hwang Eun-hee, and life imprisonment for Yeon Ji-ho, as in the first trial.

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