Kim Seong-jin, 33, accused of killing a woman in her 60s whom he did not know by swinging a weapon at a mart in Mia-dong, Gangbuk District, Seoul, was sentenced to life imprisonment on appeal, the same as in the first trial.
The Criminal Division 2 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Kim Jong-ho) sentenced Kim, charged with murder and other offenses, to life imprisonment and ordered him to wear a location-tracking electronic device for 30 years. The first trial also sentenced Kim to life imprisonment.
Regarding why it upheld the first-trial decision even though prosecutors sought the death penalty for Kim, the court said, "There is a law that restricts parole after a life sentence for serious crimes, and imposing an electronic device for 30 years is also a means of control upon parole."
Kim was indicted on charges of killing a woman in her 60s whom he did not know with a displayed weapon at a mart in Mia-dong on Apr. 22. He is also charged with attempted murder for trying to kill a woman in her 40s but stopping the attack when the victim begged for her life.