The prosecution sought a life sentence for Kim Myung-hyun in the appeal trial, but a 30-year prison sentence has been confirmed.

Kim Myung-hyun (43), who was convicted of murdering a man he had never seen before and stealing 120,000 won, has had his sentence of 30 years in prison confirmed.

According to the legal community on the 17th, Kim was indicted on charges of robbery and murder but did not submit an appeal to the Daejeon High Court following the appeal trial held on the 30th of last month.

The prosecution also did not file an appeal, confirming the 30-year prison sentence imposed on Kim during the appeal trial.

On November 8 of last year, at around 9:40 PM, Kim murdered a man in his 30s who was waiting for a designated driver near a restaurant parking lot in Seosan, Chungcheongnam-do.

After the crime, Kim fled in the victim's car. He disposed of the victim's body in a nearby waterway and then set the car on fire.

Kim used the 120,000 won he stole from the victim to buy food and purchased lottery tickets worth 60,000 won. He even went to work calmly the day after the crime.

The first trial court stated, "Human life is the source of human existence, the highest interest that the law seeks to protect, and the most dignified value, but this was violated, making the nature of the crime very bad," and sentenced Kim to 30 years in prison.

Kim's defense emphasized that the crime was impulsive and committed under the influence of alcohol and appealed, while the prosecution argued that it should be viewed as a planned crime and sought a life sentence in the appeal trial for improper sentencing.

The appellate court, which dismissed appeals from both parties, stated, "The defendant prepared gloves and a weapon, meticulously planning the crime while choosing the location and target, resulting in a very bad nature of crime by murdering an unknown victim," but also noted, "It cannot be seen that the first trial sentence was too heavy or too light, and it is reasonable that the sentence was made within a rational range.”

Image source: Seosan District Prosecutor's Office website, JTBC 'Incident Report', reference photos for understanding the article / gettyimagesbank