2021 Sticks Murder at Seoul Children's Sports Center in Korea

 On December 31, 2021, a bizarre murder case took place at the Children's Sports Center in Bukhankajwa-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. On December 30, 2021, late in the evening, the victim, Goh Jaehyung (26 years old at the time and an employee at the sports center),  had an end-of-year dinner with his boss, Han Mo (40 years old at the time and the owner of the sports center), and two other employees. 

According to KakaoTalk messages released by the victim's family, until 11 p.m., the victim was conscious enough to communicate with his family through text messages. The substitute driver who received a call from the victim stated that the victim, who was intoxicated, was unable to provide his location and canceled the ride. 

During the call, a man presumed to be the perpetrator allegedly said, "Where the hell do you live, you ××? If you want to go home, you better give the driver the correct location." When the driver didn't arrive, Mr. Goh said, "I'll drive myself home," and suddenly, Mr. Han exploded, saying, "Did I teach you to act like this no matter how much you drink? Don't you dare sit in the driver's seat, you bastard!" He angrily took Mr. Goh back to the center and started drinking. 

Throughout the drinking session, Mr. Han's anger didn't subside. It only intensified. Eventually, Mr. Han violently punched Mr. Goh, causing him to fall to the ground. He then repeatedly beat Mr. Goh's face and body with a vacuum cleaner handle and even stomped on him with his feet. 

Mr. Goh, who worked as a physical education teacher at the sports center and had a larger build than the assailant, is believed to have been incapacitated due to his intoxicated state, allowing Mr. Han to carry out the assault. However, during the early hours of the following day, around 2 a.m., Mr. Han suddenly made a false report to the police, claiming that his own sister was being assaulted by a man and asked for help ("A perverted guy is here and hitting her"). When the police arrived, Mr. Han confusedly stated, "When did I say it was my sister? Some man intruded into the center, and I fought with him. He ran away," refusing to disclose the CCTV footage and insisting on going to the police station himself to make a report, urging the officers to leave.

At this point, the police discovered Mr. Goh, who had been unconscious but still alive. He was found lying in a room, completely undressed down to his underwear. However, Mr. Han tried to mislead the police by claiming that the victim was just a sleeping employee unrelated to the incident and intoxicated. He even pretended to be friendly by patting his head. Eventually, after confirming that he was still alive through his pulse, the police covered his body with a padded jacket and left. After the police left, Mr. Han brutally and grotesquely murdered Mr. Goh by inserting a 70cm plastic hurdle rod, typically used for toddlers, into his anus. 

He pushed the rod inside the victim's body through the rectum, piercing not only the rectum but also the liver and heart until there were holes. He even forcefully kicked the rod into his body multiple times to make sure it was properly inserted. The definitive cause of death, as revealed during the autopsy, was heart damage. 

Around 9 a.m., after 7 hours had passed, Mr. Han once again reported to the police that Mr. Goh, with whom he had been drinking, was unconscious and not breathing. He was immediately arrested as the prime suspect. Initially, he was charged with assault resulting in death due to the wounds found on Mr. Goh's body. However, after it was revealed that he had killed him by inserting the rod, the charges were changed to murder. Mr. Han was remanded into custody by the prosecution on January 7, 2022.

Trial:During the trial, Mr. Han admitted to the charges but claimed that Mr. Goh died because of the police. He argued that he had a diminished mental capacity. He claimed that at the time of the crime, he had taken medication for smoking cessation that caused aggression when combined with alcohol. 

He also asserted that he consumed more than three times his usual alcohol intake, drinking two and a half to three bottles of soju, which impaired his ability to think rationally and led him to mistake Mr. Goh as a "mentally deranged pervert." However, the court did not accept Mr. Han's claims. 

The trial judge noted that immediately after inserting the rod into Mr. Goh's body and causing his death, Mr. Han made a phone call to the police, saying, "A perverted guy is here and hitting her," indicating that he was fully aware of the fact that he had assaulted Mr. Goh. The court considered this call as evidence that Mr. Han was clearly aware that he had assaulted Mr. Goh and attempted to cover up the crime. 

The court also rejected Mr. Han's claim that he did not remember inserting the rod into Mr. Goh's body. During police questioning, Mr. Han provided specific details about his mindset and the sequence of events during the assault, such as saying, "Just the thought of drunk driving made my buttocks hurt, so I hit him there," and he even recalled vaguely inserting and removing the rod between Mr. Goh's legs. Therefore, the court concluded that "Mr. Han was aware of his actions, exercised violence, and inserted the rod into Mr. Goh's body" and that "he was not in a diminished mental state."

On April 13, 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the sentence of 25 years in prison.