A man in his 30s who was indicted on charges of killing an acquaintance he lived with and discarding the body near Dumulmeori in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi, denied the murder charge at his first trial.
The Criminal Division 14 of the Seoul Northern District Court (Presiding Judge Oh Byung-hee) held the first trial on the morning of the 7th for a person surnamed Sung, who is charged with murder and abandoning a body.
Sung's side denied the murder charge among the allegations in court that day and said it acknowledges the charge of abandoning a body. Sung's court-appointed attorney argued regarding the murder charge, "The defendant did not have intent to kill and did not foresee the victim's death."
Prosecutors also refuted the claim that "the victim was gaslighted." The attorney said, "The victim was not in a state to be under the defendant's control, and the defendant never made the victim an object of anger."
Sung is accused of strangling to death a man in his 30s, a person surnamed Lee who lived with Sung in an apartment in Gangbuk District on Jan. 14, on the grounds that he demanded motorcycle fuel money, and discarding the body at Dumulmeori on the Namhan River in Yangpyeong County.
The two reportedly became close about two years ago while working as motorcycle delivery agents. Prosecutors said that day that even before the crime, Sung assaulted the victim's face and body multiple times, causing injuries.
The court will examine a prosecution witness at 3 p.m. on the 9th of next month. The defendant's questioning will follow.