Repeat Offender Gets Life Sentence for Lover's Murder

A 60-year-old man, with a prior conviction for murdering his wife, has received a life sentence in his appellate trial for the murder of his lover. The Suwon High Court upheld the initial ruling, also ordering the offender to wear a GPS tracking device for 15 years.

The court noted that the man's text message to his second wife shortly before the crime, stating he might go to prison again and asking her to look after their children, suggested the act was not entirely impulsive. "Considering the nature of the crime and the risk of recidivism, severe punishment commensurate with the offense is necessary, and there is a need for permanent isolation from society," the judges stated.

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Considering the nature of the crime and the risk of recidivism, severe punishment commensurate with the offense is necessary, and there is a need for permanent isolation from society.

However, the court did not impose the death penalty requested by the prosecution. While the prosecution argued the murder was meticulously planned, including drugging the victim, the court found it difficult to completely rule out the possibility that the victim had purchased and consumed the sedative himself. "While it is difficult to acknowledge premeditated murder, considering that the victim was murdered while intoxicated and unable to resist, and that intent to kill is recognized, a life sentence, the next heaviest punishment after the death penalty, is imposed," the court explained.

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While it is difficult to acknowledge premeditated murder, considering that the victim was murdered while intoxicated and unable to resist, and that intent to kill is recognized, a life sentence, the next heaviest punishment after the death penalty, is imposed.

The man was accused of killing his lover, a woman in her 40s, in June of the previous year. He allegedly beat her severely in his home in Seongnam after suspecting she was seeing another man. He confessed to the crime to his second wife, leading to his arrest by police who had received a missing person report for the victim from her family.

This is not the man's first violent offense. He received a 15-year prison sentence in 1987 for murdering his spouse out of suspicion of infidelity. After his release on parole, he was convicted of assaulting his second wife in 2001 and faced further charges for raping and sexually assaulting his stepdaughter between 2009 and 2010, receiving an eight-year sentence. The first trial court had previously warned of his high likelihood of committing similar crimes against women, potentially leading to fatal outcomes.

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The defendant may go to prison again. Please take care of the children.