Prosecutors have again sought a 28-year prison term for a man in his 50s who stabbed and killed an acquaintance he happened to encounter, believing the victim had once humiliated him in front of others.
At the appeal trial's closing arguments hearing Wednesday, held before the Seoul High Court's Chuncheon division, First Criminal Panel — presided over by Chief Judge Lee Eun-hye — prosecutors asked the court to impose the same 28-year sentence requested at the first trial. The defendant, identified only as A, is 56.
A received a 12-year sentence at the first trial and appealed, arguing the punishment was excessive and asking for a reduced term. He also maintained throughout the appeal that he had no intention of killing the victim.
A was indicted on charges of murder after attacking acquaintance B, also 56, with a knife at a restaurant in Myeongnyun-dong, Wonju, Gangwon Province, at around 8:10 p.m. on Dec. 11 last year, fatally wounding him.
A had been drinking alone at the restaurant when B walked in by chance. Investigators found that A attacked B because he believed B had embarrassed him in front of others on a previous occasion.
The first-trial court acknowledged that A had committed the crime in a state of diminished mental capacity, but sentenced him to 12 years in prison after weighing the gravity of the offense, the risk of reoffending and the fact that the victim's bereaved family had not forgiven him.
The appeal sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 7.
rim@heraldcorp.com
