South Korea: Man in his 40s sentenced to 23 years in prison for killing neighbor because ”trees in the garden were hanging over solar panels”

A man in his 40s who murdered his neighbour after a multi-year argument over a tree that was blocking his own solar panels has been sentenced to 23 years in prison.
The Supreme Court of Korea ruled that a certain Mr. Kang, who was indicted on charges of murder, special injury, and drunk driving,
On the 26th, the court announced that the original ruling, which sentenced the defendant (43) to 23 years in prison and ordered him to wear an electronic ankle bracelet (a location tracking device) for 10 years, had been upheld.
Defendant Kang allegedly allegedly used the branches of a peach tree planted in the garden of his neighbor, victim A (72), to protect the solar panels on the roof of his house.
The defendant had been arguing with the victim for several years because he was suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. In April of last year, while he was working in the garden, Kang approached him while drunk, yelled abuse at him, and demanded that he cut down a tree.
However, Mr. A said, "(Defendant Kang) is drunk, so let's talk later," and entered the house. Defendant Kang became angry because he felt that Mr. A had ignored him, and at around 6:40 pm on the same day, he grabbed a sashimi knife and
He then went to the backyard of Mr. A's house and stabbed him a total of six times in the chin, right shoulder, etc., and also stabbed Mr. A's wife, Ms. B (67), in the top of her right foot when she tried to stop him.
Kang is also accused of driving a car while drunk for about three kilometers immediately after the crime.
He claimed that after the crime he told passersby, "I killed someone, please report it," and was then arrested by police while he was waiting nearby.He also requested that his sentence be reduced because he turned himself in.
However, the court ruled that Kang had merely repeated the words "I killed someone" and it was unclear whether he had actually requested a report, and did not allow him to turn himself in.
The first trial found Kang guilty and sentenced him to 26 years in prison. The first trial court said, "Kang stabbed and slashed the victim multiple times.
"The murder was carried out in such a brutal manner that the nature of the crime was extremely deplorable and Mr. A appears to have suffered severe pain until the moment of his death."
During the trial, Kang claimed he was mentally impaired because he had been drinking at the time, but the court ruled that Kang
The court rejected this, stating that it was impossible to prove that the defendant was drunk at the time of the crime and had weak ability to distinguish things or make decisions. The second trial reduced the sentence to 23 years in prison.
The second trial court ruled that Kang had shown remorse by confessing to the crime of special assault, which he had denied in the first trial, that they had been arguing for several years, and that A's family had obtained the property owned by Kang.
The court took into consideration the fact that a provisional attachment was made on the land worth approximately 257 million won (approximately 29.09 million yen), and that it is believed that it will be possible to recover some of the financial damage in the future.
Kang appealed the sentence, claiming that it was too harsh, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, saying, "The sentence imposed by the original court cannot be considered to be grossly unjust."