"Busan Roundhouse-kick" Perpetrator Receives Additional One-year Prison Term for Retaliatory Threats

"I will escape and kill her," among other threats
Court: "Witness testimonies are consistent"
Victim: "Sentencing guidelines must be redefined"

The perpetrator of the so-called "Busan roundhouse-kick" incident, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for brutally assaulting a woman on her way home, has received an additional one-year prison sentence on charges of retaliatory threats against the victim.

According to a Yonhap News report on the 12th, the Criminal Division 1 of the Busan District Court, Western Branch (Presiding Judge Kim Joo-gwan) sentenced a man in his 30s, identified by the surname Lee, to one year in prison on charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes (retaliatory threats, etc.), insult, and coercion.

CCTV footage at the scene of the Busan roundhouse kick incident. Yonhap News

Lee is currently serving his sentence after the Supreme Court, in September 2023, finalized a 20-year prison term for chasing and assaulting Ms. Kim Jinju (pseudonym) on May 22, 2022, in a residential area of Busanjin District, Busan, with the intent to sexually assault her.

In February 2023, immediately after the first-instance sentence, he was indicted on charges of making retaliatory remarks while being held at the Busan Detention Center, where he mentioned the victim's home address to a fellow inmate and said he would escape and kill her. He is also accused of sending a threatening letter to his ex-girlfriend and coercing a cellmate to bring in items purchased during visitation.

Lee denied the allegations, claiming, "I had absolutely no intention, reason, or desire to retaliate against the victim in the roundhouse-kick incident or to carry anything out, and I never said such things." However, the court did not accept his claims.

The court stated, "The testimonies of the witnesses in connection with this case are consistent, and they have no reason to fabricate lies," adding, "The defendant committed a serious crime that threatened the victim's life, and even after being incarcerated, he showed no remorse and went on to commit additional offenses. The victim has suffered renewed pain because of this case, and the defendant's culpability is therefore grave." The court went on to explain the sentencing rationale, saying, "We determined the sentence in consideration of the fact that the offenses in this case are in a concurrent-offense relationship with the prior crime."

Ms. Kim, the victim, who attended the first-instance sentencing hearing that day, expressed dissatisfaction, saying, "The sentence is extremely light." She added, "The perpetrator's retaliatory threats against the victim caused the victim immense real suffering, but because no actual retaliation was carried out, it seems the state is treating this too lightly," and continued, "There is a need to redefine the sentencing guidelines for crimes of retaliatory threats."

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