Kim Young-woo, 55, the defendant in the "Cheongju missing woman murder" case who killed his former partner and dumped the body in a wastewater treatment tank, was sentenced to 23 years in prison at the first trial. The court said the investigation was prolonged because the crime was meticulously concealed.
The Cheongju District Court Criminal Division 22 (Presiding Judge Han Sang-won) on the 21st sentenced Kim Young-woo, who was arrested and indicted on charges of murder and abandoning a body, to 23 years in prison.
The court said, "After killing the victim, the defendant abandoned the body in a wastewater treatment facility and concealed the crime by, among other things, sinking the victim's vehicle in a lake," and added, "Because of the defendant's lies, the investigation was prolonged, and the victim could not return to the family's arms for a long time after death."
It continued, "The bereaved family suffered anxiety and worry after the victim's disappearance, and they are likely to endure pain that will be hard to heal for life."
However, the court said it determined the sentence by taking into account that the crime was acknowledged and that an agreement was reached with the bereaved family.
Kim Young-woo was brought to trial on charges of fatally stabbing his former partner, identified as A, in her 50s, multiple times with a weapon inside an SUV parked at a roadside lot in Moonbaek-myeon, Jincheon County, North Chungcheong Province, on Oct. 14 last year in the afternoon.
Police said it was found that the crime was committed in a rage after learning the victim was seeing another man.
After the crime, the body was moved into the defendant's vehicle and was found to have been abandoned in a wastewater treatment tank at a company in Eumseong County that has a transaction with the wastewater treatment business he operates.
Based on Kim Young-woo's confession, police recovered the victim's body 44 days after the disappearance.
At the time, considering the seriousness of the crime, the concealment attempt, and the bereaved family's opinion, police disclosed Kim Young-woo's personal information. It was the first case in North Chungcheong where a criminal's personal information was disclosed.