Women’s Group: “Defendant in Geoje Dating Violence Death Case Must Be Punished for Murder”

"The victim was murdered. The prosecutor must change the charge in the indictment to murder!"

On the 22nd, when the appellate trial of the so-called 'Geoje Dating Violence Death Case' was held, 23 women's organizations including the Gyeongnam Women's Association and the Women's Party held a press conference in front of the Changwon Court Building of the Busan High Court, demanding strict punishment for the perpetrator, shouting these words.

This case involves a man in his 20s, Mr. A, who last year on April 20th broke into his ex-girlfriend Ms. B's rented room, climbed on top of her while she was sleeping, assaulted her by hitting her head and face, strangling her neck, and other violence, resulting in Ms. B's death after 10 days.

Mr. A was sentenced to 12 years in prison in the first trial but appealed on grounds of factual error, legal misinterpretation, and unfair sentencing. The prosecutor also filed an appeal citing unfair sentencing.

Mr. A's side argued again on this day, "We admit to trespassing but deny stalking behavior and claim there was no foreseeability of death after the assault," insisting the sentence was too heavy.

Gyeongnam Women's Association, Women's Party, and others are holding a press conference urging the application of murder charges and strict punishment against the male defendant in the 'Geoje Dating Violence Death Case.' Photo by Lee Se-ryeong

Immediately after the first appellate trial, women's organizations stated, "The cause of the deceased's death was confirmed to be head injuries caused by assault," and questioned, "How can such a heinous crime be interpreted as lacking intent to murder?"

They said, "The defendant in this case habitually assaulted the victim and repeatedly threatened and assaulted the victim who wanted to break up, preventing her from ending the relationship," and "The victim ultimately could not escape from the perpetrator until her death."

They added, "Murders occurring in intimate relationships have been difficult to prove intent to murder and have been applied as injury resulting in death," but "injury resulting in death in intimate relationships is clearly different from assault resulting in death, as the perpetrator unilaterally inflicts violence from a position of physical and relational superiority."

The organizations raised their voices, saying, "The prosecution should indict the defendant for murder, and the court should impose a strong punishment appropriate for this defendant."

The bereaved family of the victim in the dating violence death case in Geoje, Gyeongnam, is holding a petition demanding severe punishment for the male perpetrator. Photo by Lee Seryeong

Subsequently, together with Ms. B's bereaved family, they submitted a petition demanding strict punishment of the perpetrator to the prosecution and the court respectively.

The petition started to be collected from the 20th and gathered 8,752 signatures within two days.

The next appellate trial for this case is scheduled to be held around March 5th in the same courtroom.

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