A district court sentenced a man in his 50s to 40 years in prison in the first trial for killing a female TikToker in her 20s and abandoning her body.
The 11th Criminal Division of the Suwon District Court (Chief Judge Song Byung-hoon) on the 20th sentenced a defendant identified as A, who was indicted and detained on charges including murder, abandoning a body, and obstructing special official duties, to 40 years in prison.
The court said, "Human life is an absolute value that cannot be exchanged for anything, and murder, whether an impulsive crime or not, can never be tolerated under any circumstances."
On the reasoning for sentencing, the court noted, "The defendant moved the victim's body all the way to Muju, North Jeolla, and denied the crime until the body was found, contesting intent to kill through the sentencing hearing," and added, "The bereaved family of the victim, who ended her life at the young age of 25 without even having a chance to pursue her dreams, are suffering from wounds, pain, and guilt that are difficult to heal."
A was brought to trial on charges of strangling a TikToker in her 20s, identified as B, to death on Sept. 11 last year on Yeongjongdo, Incheon, and abandoning the body in a mountain in Muju County, North Jeolla.
An investigation found that in May last year, A approached B, saying "I know the TikTok market well," and proposed a partnership and investment. However, disagreements over how to run the channel arose, and A committed the crime in a fit of anger.
Holding B's portrait to her chest, the mother cried out to A as A left the courtroom after the first-trial sentencing, "Aren't you sorry?"
Earlier, at the sentencing hearing, prosecutors sought the death penalty for A, citing the extreme depravity of the crime and the fact that it hindered judicial proceedings for a serious offense.
After the sentencing hearing, B's mother told reporters, "For A, who is in his 50s, a 40-year prison term is practically the same as life imprisonment," and added, "We are grateful to the court."