A view of the Supreme Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul. /Senior Reporter Minkyu Park
The severe sentence of the gang who drove a successor who served in the military with a hatchet to extort money and drove him to death has been confirmed.
On the 23rd, the third division of the Supreme Court (Presiding Judge Ahn Chul-sang) confirmed the lower court sentenced to 11 years in prison in the appeal trial of Mr. A, who was charged with robbery and murder.
In August 2021, Mr. A visited the victim’s residence with two accomplices, took the victim to the roof of the apartment, made him write a ’10 million won payment memorandum’, and was accused of assault and intimidation. At the time of the crime, Mr. A was carrying his hatchet. Afterwards, one of the accomplices, Mr. B, took the victim for three hours and made him apply for a loan. The victim made an extreme choice four hours after breaking up with Mr. A’s gang.
The first trial military court sentenced Mr. A to five years in prison. Although a causal relationship was recognized between the crime and the death of the victim, Mr. A said that it would have been difficult for Mr. A to predict the death of the victim.
On the other hand, after the abolition of the High Military Court, the second trial court of the Seoul High Court, which was in charge of Mr. A’s appeal, sentenced Mr. A to 11 years in prison, more than twice the sentence of the first trial. The judge acknowledged the charge of robbery and manslaughter, saying, “Mr. A was fully aware that the victim was more timid than the average person, and therefore expected that the victim could make extreme choices under extreme psychological pressure.” The Supreme Court also confirmed the lower court, saying that there was no mistake in misunderstanding the legal principles regarding the establishment of robbery and murder.
The prison sentences of two accomplices who were charged with crimes such as robbery and murder by committing the crime together with Mr. A were also confirmed on the same day. The trial court sentenced them to 10 and 8 years in prison, respectively. They appealed, saying that they could not foresee that the victim would commit suicide due to the crime, but following the appellate court, the second division of the Supreme Court (Presiding Judge Lee Dong-won) confirmed the lower court, saying that there was no mistake in misunderstanding the legal principles regarding the establishment of robbery and murder and co-principal.
