Seoul appeals court gives 12 years to man who beat girlfriend to death in Japan 

The Seoul High Court on Wednesday sentenced a Korean man to 12 years in prison for beating his girlfriend to death at their home in Nishinomiya, Japan, in 2015. The appeal ruling added two years to his original sentence.

The man, surnamed Kim, was convicted of causing death through bodily injury and extortion. Like the lower court, the appellate court found that prosecutors had failed to prove that the defendant intended to kill his partner and declined to convict him of murder.

Kim was also convicted of the killing in Japan and served eight years in a Japanese prison.

Kim repeatedly assaulted the victim, a Korean student whom he was living with, at their home in Hyogo Prefecture on May 26, 2015, leading to her death.

Her liver, greater omentum and mesentery were ruptured, her cervical vertebra was fractured, and about 30 percent of her body suffered from subcutaneous bleeding.

Kim began dating the victim in 2014 and gradually isolated her from others, according to the newly established Public Prosecution Service. He reportedly demanded that she inform him of virtually every detail of her daily life and verbally abused her when she failed to comply.

“The victim was 23 years old, and no efforts have been made [by the defendant] to compensate for the harm [that he caused],” the court said. “Kim spent eight years in prison in Japan, but that cannot heal the grief suffered by the victim’s family. Considering the circumstances as a whole, a 10-year [sentence] is too light.”

The eight years that Kim served in Japan will count toward his sentence, leaving him with about four years to serve.

The court said that he should spend that time “praying for the victim and reflecting on the harm caused to her family.”

BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]