Kimcheon Officetel Murder Case Appeal Result

Yang Jeong-ryeol (32), the defendant of the 'Kimcheon Officetel Murder Case', who brutally murdered a man he had never met and even took out loans using the victim's fingerprints, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the appeal trial.

The Daegu High Court's Criminal Division 1 (Chief Judge Jeong Seong-wook) dismissed both the appeals from Yang Jeong-ryeol and the prosecution on the 21st and confirmed the life sentence handed down in the first trial. In addition, a 20-year electronic monitoring order was also imposed on Yang Jeong-ryeol.

The court pointed out in its ruling, "The defendant's crime is extremely grave as he killed the victim by stabbing him multiple times with a weapon prepared in advance with the intent to rob unspecified individuals to solve his financial difficulties."

It further assessed, "After the murder, the defendant exhibited a cruel attitude, utilizing the victim’s money to satisfy his economic desires without any sense of guilt and disposing of the body."

Method of the Crime and Response from the Victim’s Family

Last November, Yang Jeong-ryeol broke into an officetel in Kimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, impersonating a security guard and brutally murdered the victim, A (then 31 years old), who was of the same age.

After the crime, Yang Jeong-ryeol used the victim's ID and cards to make purchases worth hundreds of thousands of won. When the credit card balance was exhausted, he even used the victim's fingerprints to borrow 60 million won.

More shockingly, when A's parents started contacting him out of concern for their missing son, Yang Jeong-ryeol posed as A and sent false text messages to reassure the parents.

Upon the announcement of the life sentence in the appeal trial, the victim's family, sitting in the audience, wept, saying, "Bring my son back."

The court recognized "the family is living in great shock and pain and has submitted petitions multiple times requesting the death penalty, thereby acknowledging the need to consider a death sentence."

However, the court explained the reason for the life sentence by saying, "Considering that the defendant is deeply remorseful, had a stable school life without delinquency despite growing up in an unfortunate family environment, and has no prior criminal history, there has been no change in the sentencing conditions since the first trial."

Image Source: Yang Jeong-ryeol (31) / Daegu District Prosecutor's Office Kimcheon Branch, reference photos for understanding the article / Forbes, reference photos for understanding the article / Getty Images Bank