Man who beat girlfriend with golf club gets sentence increased on appeal

A man who beat his girlfriend with a golf club and other objects because she did not delete photos of herself with a former boyfriend has had his prison sentence increased on appeal after it emerged that she suffered permanent vision loss from the attack.

The Seoul High Court's Chuncheon branch sentenced the man to four years in prison on Monday, up from the original three years and six months. He was convicted of aggravated confinement causing bodily harm, aggravated assault, unlawful detention, assault and intimidation.

The attack took place last August after the man discovered his girlfriend had exchanged messages with another man. He dragged her to his home, demanded she delete all photos and contacts related to other men and told her he would not let her leave until she complied. He then beat her and confined her for four hours, at one point striking her with a golf club.

The assault continued after he moved her to a bar he had previously operated. There, he locked her in a boiler room, shoved her to the ground with a golf club and beat her with his fists and feet for about an hour.

The woman lost consciousness, and after regaining awareness asked him to call emergency services. He refused the request and continued to confine and abuse her for approximately 14 hours. She suffered bruising across her body and a fractured eye socket.

The lower court sentenced him to three years and six months, citing the severity of her injuries and her petition for a heavy sentence. The appeals court accepted prosecutors' argument that the original sentence was too lenient after additional information emerged showing the victim had suffered permanent vision loss and was experiencing post-traumatic psychiatric conditions, including traumatic neurosis.

BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]