A 30-something man who beat to death an octogenarian while trying to steal 50,000 won from the elder's wallet during a game of "go-stop" received a finalized 20-year prison sentence.
The Supreme Court's Third Division (presiding Justice Noh Kyung-pil) said on the 9th that it finalized a lower court ruling sentencing a person surnamed Yoon (38), indicted on charges including robbery-murder, theft and fraud, to 20 years in prison, on May 20.
In Mar. last year, Yoon played go-stop with victim A (89 at the time of death), a neighbor, and his mother at A's home in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. When A became distracted while tidying a drawer, Yoon took one 50,000-won bill from A's wallet on the bed.
Realizing this, A protested, saying, "Why did you steal it? I will call 112," and threw the wallet toward Yoon's face. Yoon returned the 50,000 won, but A kept trying to call 112. Angry, Yoon threw a chair at A and beat A with a broken chair leg. A was taken to a hospital but died the same day. When A collapsed, Yoon took A's wallet containing 50,000 won in cash, a transit card and other items.
Separately, Yoon was also indicted for stealing A's debit card that had been left on the bed while playing go-stop together at A's house in Nov. 2024. Yoon used A's debit card to drink at a karaoke bar and paid 300,000 won, spending a total of 849,000 won.
In the first trial, Yoon was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The first trial court said, "In 2020, Yoon also threw a glass at A's head and received a prison sentence, and Yoon has numerous prior prison sentences for more than 20 instances of theft and sex crimes," adding, "Yoon committed this crime one year after being released."
In the second trial, Yoon was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Explaining the reasons for sentencing, the second trial court said, "The defendant appears to have acted impulsively out of sudden anger during a verbal argument with the victim. The defendant also has a significant intellectual disability," and added, "The defendant called 112 voluntarily two hours after the crime."
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, saying it could not deem the lower court's 20-year prison sentence for Yoon to be seriously unjust.