34 years ago today, a groundbreaking verdict was reached.
On August 26, 1991, a historic ruling was made in a South Korean court.
A woman who had intentionally killed a man received a 'suspended sentence'. This was the verdict of the 'Kim Boo-nam case', which left many people heartbroken with the words, "I killed a beast."
This incident was not just a simple murder case; it became an important turning point in raising awareness about the severity of child sexual violence and its repercussions in society.
The court at the time chose to sentence the defendant to 'protection' rather than 'punishment'. What story lies behind this decision?
### 21 Years of Horrific Trauma
The incident occurred on January 30, 1991, in a village in Jocheon-myeon, Namwon-gun (now Namwon-si), North Jeolla Province.
Kim Boo-nam, who was 30 years old at the time, killed her neighbor, Song Baek-gwon (then 55 years old), with a knife she had prepared in advance.
Kim Boo-nam, who was 30 years old at the time, killed her neighbor, Song Baek-gwon (then 55 years old), with a knife she had prepared in advance.
Kim, who confessed to the crime at the scene, stated, "I did what needed to be done."
However, the true beginning of this case traces back 21 years earlier. In 1970, when she was 9 years old, Kim was lured by her neighbor, Song Baek-gwon, while fetching water from the village well, and was sexually assaulted.
The young girl suffered severe injuries that left her unable to walk, yet she could not tell anyone about the abuse due to Song's threats that "if she spoke, her entire family would die."
Afterwards, Kim became an adult and got married, but she was unable to lead a normal married life due to serious trauma manifested in delusions and anxiety disorders.
She faced significant difficulties in her daily life, mistakenly believing that either she or her husband was speaking to her on the television, leading her to break the TV, or thinking that her neighbors were insulting her, which resulted in fights.
### Limitations of the Law and Private Revenge
Kim realized that all her problems stemmed from the sexual assault she suffered as a child and attempted to file a lawsuit against Song.
However, at that time, sexual offenses were classified as crimes requiring a complaint, and the statute of limitations was 6 months, which had already expired.
Faced with the reality that she could not legally hold her assailant accountable, Kim decided on revenge.
She meticulously prepared for her crime by making a belt and sheath from a leather handbag to hold a kitchen knife and utility knife, practicing the swift drawing motion in front of a mirror.
On January 30, 1991, Kim went to find Song and asked him to come outside, claiming she had something to discuss. When Song responded by cursing at her, she rushed at him brandishing her prepared weapon.
At that time, Song was suffering from a stroke, which left his right side impaired, preventing him from defending himself against Kim's attack.
In the ensuing chaos, when she was disarmed of the kitchen knife, Kim immediately pulled out the utility knife and concentrated her attack on Song’s groin area, ultimately killing him.
### "I killed a beast" – The Outcry that Resounded in Court
On March 6, last year, former Judge Seo Tae-young, who oversaw the Kim Boo-nam case, appeared on KBS 2TV's "Scientific Investigation Team: Smoking Gun" for the first time to testify about the situation at that time.
In court, Kim appeared as a frail and delicate woman, hardly believable as someone who had committed murder.
Former Judge Seo recalled, "Near the end of the first trial, when I asked if she had anything to say, Kim Boo-nam replied, ‘I killed a beast.’ That statement felt like a cry of ‘What wrong did I do?’"
In fact, during the 3rd session of the first trial, Kim answered the judge's question in a small voice, so faint that the judge could not hear her and asked her lawyer, who relayed, "I killed a beast, not a human."
This phrase became a symbolic expression that illuminated the severity of child sexual assault and highlighted the emotions of the victim.
On August 26, 1991, the first trial court handed down an unusual verdict of '2 years and 6 months in prison suspended for 3 years with treatment' to Kim. Despite the planned nature of the murder, they did not impose a prison sentence.
Former Judge Seo stated, "It was an incredibly harsh reality for the defendant, whose mind and body had been shattered due to being sexually assaulted as an innocent girl without any wrongdoing, thus becoming a murderer." He added, "The court deliberated on how to protect the defendant rather than how to punish her."
Subsequently, all of Kim's appeals and petitions were rejected, and she received treatment for about 1 year and 7 months at the Gongju Treatment Center (now the National Forensic Hospital), before being released on May 1, 1993.
The Kim Boo-nam case directly influenced the enactment of the Special Law on Sexual Violence, alongside the Kim Bo-eun and Kim Jin-gwan case that occurred a year later.
Even 34 years later, this case continues to provoke many thoughts within us.
It prompts us to reconsider the limitations of the law, the seriousness of child sexual offenses, and the trauma that victims must carry for a lifetime.
Kim Boo-nam's words, "I killed a beast," continue to resonate in our society.
YouTube 'Request for Case'
Image source: kbs2 'Scientific Investigation Team: Smoking Gun'
