In 2021, Dating Violence Becomes Murder: A Murder in an Office Building in Jung-gu, Seoul

 On November 19, 2021, a 30-year-old woman who was under police protection for dating violence was stabbed by her ex-boyfriend, Kim Byung-chan (35-1986), in an office building in Jung-gu, Seoul.

suspect


The victim had been severely stalked by Mr. Kim for approximately five months after their breakup, receiving constant abusive and threatening messages and phone calls. Beginning in December 2020, Mr. Kim illegally entered the victim's home on more than 10 occasions. According to the victim's friends, Mr. Kim was repeatedly violent, including choking the victim and threatening her with a knife. 


The victim reported five stalking incidents to the police beginning on June 26, 2021. On November 7, 2021, when the victim reported another stalking incident to police, police issued a restraining order against Kim, restraining him from contacting her, communicating with her, and providing her with a smartwatch. The victim stayed in a temporary shelter or at a friend's house, but on November 19, she stopped by her office and encountered Kim.


Kim was found to have searched the internet for crime methods and tools after the victim called police on Nov. 7, and purchased the weapon in Busan on Nov. 18. The victim sent a distress signal to the police at 11:29 a.m. on Nov. 19 using her emergency smartwatch, but the police arrived in Myeongdong instead of the victim's residence due to a failure to track her location. The woman made another call at 11:33 a.m., but was stabbed to death by Kim's weapon before police arrived.


The incident, which occurred around the same time as the Incheon stabbing incident, led to a loss of trust in the police. After the incident, the victim's sister claimed that "the police had the attitude that they did everything according to the manual, even though the victim was dead." Despite the victim's five calls, the police failed to take appropriate action, and the smartwatch provided by the police malfunctioned and failed to protect the victim. 


It was also revealed that the issue of smartwatches had been raised by the Human Rights Commission three years before the incident, further highlighting police negligence. It was also revealed that the police officer in charge of the victim's safety before the crime was recently awarded the National Police Commissioner's commendation for being the 'Best Police Officer Specializing in Victims'. In the news video, the victim expressed his frustration with the police's passivity in a KakaoTalk conversation with a friend, but also expressed confidence in having a police station nearby and a smartwatch, making the situation even more unfortunate.


Kim Byung-chan was arrested at around 12:40 p.m. on Nov. 20 at an accommodation in Daegu, South Korea, and taken to Seoul, where he was detained for 22 days. During the police investigation, Kim attempted to harm himself by biting his tongue in detention. On November 24, the police decided to disclose the identity of the suspect in the murder of a woman on probation and revealed that the suspect's name was Kim Byung-chan, born in 1986. Kim was sent to the prosecutor's office at 8 a.m. on November 29 and apologized to reporters 12 times, shouting "I'm sorry" in the photo line.


On December 16, 2021, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office announced that Kim had been charged with retaliatory murder under the Special Act on the Punishment of Certain Crimes, rather than simple murder. On May 23, 2022, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison and electronic monitoring. On June 16, 2022, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced him to 35 years in prison and 15 years of electronic monitoring. On June 21, 2022, both the prosecution and Kim Byung-chan appealed the first trial verdict. In the second trial, on August 31, 2022, the prosecution requested life imprisonment. On September 23, 2022, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison and 15 years of electronic monitoring, five years longer than the first trial. The Supreme Court confirmed the sentence of 40 years in prison and 15 years of electronic monitoring on January 10, 2023.



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