Man Sentenced to 27 Years for Killing Acquaintance, Dumping Body and Pretending to Be the Victim

[Financial News] A man in his 30s who was indicted for brutally beating an acquaintance he lived with to death and dumping the body in Yangpyeong Dumulmeori, Gyeonggi Province, was handed a heavy prison sentence in the first trial.
The 14th Criminal Division of the Seoul Northern District Court, presided over by Judge Oh Byung-hee, sentenced the 35-year-old man, identified by his surname Seong, to 27 years in prison on the morning of the 23rd and ordered him to wear an electronic tracking device for 15 years.
Prosecutors had previously sought a life sentence for Seong and requested 20 years of electronic monitoring at the final hearing.
Seong's side largely admitted to the facts of the case, but argued that he had only tried to stop the victim from rushing at him and had no intent to kill. The defense also disputed part of the charges, saying the time of death differed from the allegations in the indictment.
The court, however, reached a different conclusion. Taking into account the stiffness of the body captured on CCTV in the apartment building elevator, the movements and communications of the defendant and people around him, including his girlfriend and mother, as well as inconsistencies in the defendant's statements, the court determined that the victim likely died around the afternoon of Jan. 13.
The court also ruled that intent to kill had been established. It explained, "The defendant began beating the victim indiscriminately, saying he had not properly cleaned up the house that day, and he had ample motive to kill the victim, having previously made abusive remarks to acquaintances that he wanted to 'kill' the victim. Because he struck a vital area of a victim whose condition was already poor after suffering significant injuries, the possibility of death could have been fully foreseen, and at minimum, there was eventual intent to kill."
The court cited the extremely poor circumstances after the crime as a major reason for imposing a severe sentence. Judge Oh said, "The motive and circumstances of the crime were highly reprehensible, as the defendant brutally beat the victim, with whom he had been living, and killed him by wrapping him in a thin blanket. Considering the aftermath of the crime, a stern punishment proportionate to his culpability is necessary."
According to prosecutors, Seong dumped the victim's body in the Namhan River after the murder, leaving the bereaved family in unbearable pain and unable to hold a funeral for more than six months. Investigators also found that he used the victim's mobile phone to contact the family while pretending to be the victim, saying he was "planning to go abroad to work," in an apparent attempt to conceal the death forever. After the crime, he also tried to destroy evidence by resetting both his own phone and the victim's phone and deleting chat records. Authorities also found signs that he had prepared a passport and cash and may have been planning to flee overseas.
Seong was indicted for beating the victim, who had been living with him at a home in Gangbuk District, Seoul, in January, then strangling him to death and dumping the body near Yangpyeong Dumulmeori in Gyeonggi Province.
Meanwhile, the victim's body, discovered on the 1st, six months after the disappearance, was identified through DNA analysis by the National Forensic Service, and the family was finally able to complete the funeral process.
Seong, who entered the courtroom wearing a brown prison uniform and a mask, left immediately after the sentence was handed down. In his final statement, he apologized to the victim and the bereaved family and said, "I will spend the rest of my life atoning for this."
[email protected] Seo Ji-yoon Reporter