30-Year Prison Terms Finalized for Stepmother-Like Plot to Kill Daughter Who Reported Sex Crime
Seven years ago, on October 11, 2019, a stepfather who murdered his middle school stepdaughter and dumped her body in a reservoir, along with the girl's biological mother, was each sentenced to 30 years in prison in Muan, South Jeolla Province.
The case dates back two months earlier, to early April 2019. At the time, 12-year-old A told her biological father that she had been sexually molested by her stepfather, Mr. Kim (then 31), and faced an attempted sexual assault. After her father reported it to the police, A left her home in Gwangju and moved in with her father in Mokpo. However, upon learning of the report, her mother, Ms. Yoo (then 39), far from protecting her daughter, demanded that her ex-husband withdraw the complaint, saying, "How could you do this to my husband? Raise your daughter better," and sent blame-filled messages to A as well.
The two decided to kill A. In the roughly two weeks before the crime, they traveled around the country preparing tools for the murder, including packing tape and burlap sacks, and even scouted a location to dump the body. Yoo was prescribed sleeping pills on April 25, and two days later, on the 27th, she called A in Mokpo from a public phone and gave her a drink laced with sleeping pills. Also in the car was the couple's 13-month-old son. Kim drove the vehicle to a farm road in Muan, South Jeolla Province, where he strangled A to death, with Yoo present at the scene. Kim abandoned the body in a reservoir near Neoritjae Tunnel in Dong-gu, Gwangju on the night of the 27th, and it was discovered the next morning.
When police contacted Yoo while verifying the sexual assault report, the fact that Kim had been reported as a sex offender became known to the perpetrators' side. Criticism was later raised that the police response left A without protection, and the National Human Rights Commission of Korea also determined that the police measures failed to adequately safeguard A's safety.
Kim turned himself in to police, but initially claimed he committed the crime alone. During the investigation, the two blamed each other. Kim argued that his wife Yoo had induced him to kill A, while Yoo countered that she only learned of the murder plan when Kim strangled A in the car and could not stop him. However, as the investigation progressed, evidence emerged that Yoo had been deeply involved in the crime, including preparing sleeping pills in advance and personally luring A out.
The case was recorded as one in which the adults and institutions meant to protect a child victim of sexual assault instead led her to harm. On October 11, 2019, the first-instance court sentenced both to 30 years in prison, stating, "They meticulously murdered their 12-year-old daughter, whom they should have protected more than anyone, for inexplicable reasons, making their crimes extremely egregious." The court noted of Kim that he "caused the fundamental cause of the incident yet deceived Yoo into believing the daughter was more at fault," and of Yoo that "she appears to have given specific instructions to commit murder despite being the biological mother, making severe punishment inevitable."
The outcome was the same on appeal. On May 19, 2020, the Gwangju High Court's Criminal Division 2 sentenced both to 30 years in prison. On August 20, 2020, the Supreme Court dismissed their appeal, finalizing the 30-year sentences.
