Life sentence upheld for man who murdered son with homemade gun at birthday party

A man who fatally shot his son with a homemade shotgun at his own birthday party in Songdo, Incheon, had his life sentence upheld on appeal Tuesday.

The Seoul High Court's Incheon Branch rejected the appeal from the perpetrator and affirmed the original life sentence on Tuesday. The prosecution also appealed, as is permitted under Korean judicial law.

The perpetrator had been convicted of murder, attempted murder and violating the Act on the Safety Management of Guns, Swords and Explosives.

"Considering the premeditation and scale of the crime, the nature of the offense is extremely egregious and the culpability is very grave," the appellate panel said in its ruling. “Human life must be protected under any circumstance."

The court added that mitigating factors had already been weighed at trial.

"The fact that the defendant disclosed an intent to start a fire immediately after his arrest, preventing further harm, and that he had no long history of convictions can be considered favorable circumstances," the panel said. "But these were sufficiently considered in determining the sentence at the first trial, and there are no special grounds to revise it."

The shooting took place at around 9:31 p.m. on July 20 of last year in the family's apartment on the 33rd floor of a building in Songdo-dong in Yeonsu District, Incheon.

The 33-year-old son had thrown a birthday party for his father that evening. The perpetrator fired one shotgun round at his son, prosecutors said. The wounded son slumped against a wall and pleaded to be spared, but was killed after his father fired at him again.

The father also faced charges of attempted murder for allegedly trying to shoot four other people inside the apartment that night: his daughter-in-law, two grandchildren and a friend of the daughter-in-law.

His marriage had ended in 2015 over a sexual violence offense he had committed, according to investigators. He had since lived without steady work and depended on financial support from his former wife and son.

When that support was cut off in late 2023, he struggled to cover living and recreational expenses. In what investigators described as a delusion, he had come to believe that his former wife and son had deceived him with false promises of continued financial support and had isolated him. He then resolved to take revenge by killing his son's family.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]