![A public identification photo of Kim Dong-won. [Newsis]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/11/news-p.v1.20260611.eee4537f748c44d389d8ac5e8b1e714b_P1.jpg)
Kim Dong-won, 42, who was indicted on charges of killing three people with a knife at a pizza shop in Seoul's Gwanak-gu, received a life sentence on appeal — the same punishment handed down at trial. The court ruled that no grounds existed to impose the death penalty, citing his lack of a prior criminal record and his remorse for the crime.
The Seoul High Court's Third Criminal Division, presided over by Chief Judge Lee Seung-han, sentenced Kim on Thursday to life in prison, upholding the lower court's ruling.
"Murder cannot be tolerated under any circumstances," the court said. "While Kim appears to have been under stress over interior renovation defects, the conclusion he reached — murder — cannot be understood by any social norm as a response to that situation, and cannot be regarded as a mitigating factor."
The court added that "the victims must have suffered extreme pain, and the bereaved families appear to have endured severe psychological harm and anguish that will be difficult to recover from," and found no basis to consider the original sentence either too lenient or too harsh.
Prosecutors had consistently sought the death penalty at both the first and second trials. The court found it "difficult to conclude that circumstances exist that would justify the death penalty beyond any doubt," pointing to Kim's clean criminal record and his display of remorse.
The first-instance court, in imposing the life sentence, said "the outcome of this case is extremely grave, and it is necessary to hold the defendant to a correspondingly heavy responsibility."
Kim is accused of killing three people — a franchise headquarters employee and an interior contractor and his daughter — at his pizza shop in Jowon-dong, Gwanak-gu, in September last year, using a weapon he had hidden inside the store. Kim had operated the franchise outlet since October 2023, and investigators found that he harbored a grudge after the franchisor and the interior contractor refused to repair the shop's interior free of charge, saying the warranty period had expired.
During the appeals process, Kim deposited an additional 15 million won ($9,850) per heir for each of the victims' heirs, totaling 45 million won, but the heirs declined to accept the funds.
yeonjoo7@heraldcorp.com
