Chinese Brothers Murdered and Two Seriously Injured... Cha Cheolnam Also Gets Life Sentence on Appeal

Ethnic Korean from China Cha Cheolnam Sentenced on Appeal

Cha Cheolnam, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial for killing two ethnic Korean brothers from China and attacking two others with a bladed weapon in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, has also been sentenced to life imprisonment on appeal.

The Criminal Division 3 of the Suwon High Court (Presiding Judge Kim Jonggi) on the 12th dismissed both the prosecution's and the defendant's appeals against the sentence, thereby upholding the first-instance life sentence for Cha Cheolnam, who had been indicted on charges of murder and attempted murder.

The suspect in the so-called Siheung murder case, Cha Cheolnam (56), an ethnic Korean from China accused of killing two people with a blunt instrument and a bladed weapon and injuring two others, was transferred from Siheung Police Station in Gyeonggi Province to the prosecution on May 27 last year. Photo by Yonhap News

At the first appeal hearing, which was also the final hearing held last month, the prosecution requested the same sentence from the court, stating, "This case involves a meticulously planned and premeditated murder in which the defendant prepared weapons and other tools in advance."

The prosecution went on to say, "The motive for the defendant committing the grave crime of murder appears to be extremely trivial," and added, "Given that there has been no restitution or recovery for the victims at all, the life sentence handed down in the first trial appears to be lenient."

The court stated, "Once a life sentence is finalized, the inmate becomes eligible for parole review after 20 years, but in that process, factors such as the risk of reoffending must be taken into account. In the case of this defendant, whose crime is of particularly bad character, the actual likelihood of parole is almost nonexistent."

The court continued, "Rather than imposing the death penalty and depriving the defendant of his life, it is appropriate to permanently isolate him from society so that he can genuinely reflect on his wrongdoing, atone to the victims, and spend the rest of his life in prison. The lower court's judgment in this regard is neither too heavy nor too light."

Cha Cheolnam is accused of calling A, a man in his 50s with Chinese nationality, to his home at around 4 p.m. on May 17 last year, suggesting they "drink alcohol," then beating him to death with a blunt instrument, and then going to A's home and beating A's younger brother B, also a man in his 50s with Chinese nationality, to death with a blunt instrument as well.

He is also accused of wandering around the crime scenes for two days, then at 9:36 a.m. on the 19th going to a convenience store near his home and attacking its owner C, a woman in her 60s, with a bladed weapon, and then attacking his landlord D, a man in his 70s, with a bladed weapon in the parking lot of a sports park, inflicting serious injuries.

During the investigation, Cha Cheolnam stated that his reason for the murders was essentially that "they did not repay 30 million won." Regarding the attempted murder charges, he is reported to have said things such as "they badmouthed me" and "they looked down on and ignored me."

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