Man in His 50s Who Killed His Cousins' Wives Gets Life Sentence Again on Appeal

A man in his 50s, identified only as A, who wielded a weapon against two couples who were cousins at a friendly gathering and killed their wives, was sentenced to life in prison again on appeal, the same as in the first trial. The Daejeon High Court's Criminal Division 1-1 (Presiding Judge Jung Kyung-mi) handed down a life sentence to A, who had been referred to trial on murder charges, upholding the original verdict.

A committed the crime on April 13, 2022, at midnight, on a road in front of a karaoke bar in Seonghwan-eup, Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, after getting into an argument with the two couples, who were cousins, and retrieving a weapon he had stored in his own car. The victim couples had gotten into the argument with A as they were leaving the karaoke bar after a friendly gathering that evening. As members of both groups intervened, the situation seemed to calm down. However, A returned with the weapon and went on a stabbing spree.

Closed-circuit (CC)TV footage from the scene captured A chasing the victim couples as they ran across a four-lane road. The weapon rampage, which broke out past midnight, lasted nearly five minutes. In the end, the two wives of the cousins died, and the brothers were also stabbed and received treatment. Each couple reportedly had two or three children.

The victim couples had met A for the first time that day. A was found to have multiple prior convictions, including assault, and reportedly claimed during police questioning that he committed the crime because "the other party picked a fight with me."

The prosecution sought the death penalty, the maximum statutory punishment, saying that "A showed a disregard for human life, such as chasing an injured victim all the way and threatening them." The bereaved families also demanded heavy punishment, saying they had never received a proper apology from A.

The court explained its sentencing rationale, stating, "Given his record of violence and the brutal method and weapon used in the assault, the risk of reoffending is high," adding that "there is a need to isolate him from society forever." The court also factored into its sentencing the fact that the families of the surviving husbands had been torn apart and that the children would no longer be able to receive their mothers' care.