”Tutor app murder” defendant Jung Yu-jung sentenced to life imprisonment in South Korea

Jung Yu-jeong (24), who was tried for luring a woman in her 20s using a tutoring app, killing her, and then damaging and abandoning the body (including murder), was sentenced to life imprisonment.
On the 13th, the Supreme Court of Korea upheld the original ruling that sentenced defendant Chung, who was indicted on charges of murder and other crimes, to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court said, "Considering the defendant's age, sexual conduct, environment, relationship with the victim, and this
Considering the various circumstances that are conditions for the sentence, such as the motive, means and results of each crime in the case, and the circumstances after the crimes, which are stated in the record, we cannot say that the original court's sentence of life imprisonment against the defendant was grossly unjust.
The court ruled that this was not possible. Defendant Chung was indicted on charges of inviting Ms. A to work as a tutor on a part-time job app in May last year, pretending to be her guardian, then murdering her and abandoning her body.
Defendant Jong pretended that Ms. A had gone missing and abandoned the body on the banks of the Nakdong River where she usually took walks. He found it suspicious that she had abandoned a bloodstained suitcase.
The crime came to light when a taxi driver who had been driving the car reported it to the police. The Busan District Court sentenced Jeong to life imprisonment, saying, "He was a cruel man who planned and committed the murders to satisfy his own desires.
The Busan District Prosecutors' Office responded by saying, "Defendant Jung has not seriously reflected on his actions and there is a high risk that he will reoffend," and "The family members of the deceased will also be severely punished."
The prosecution also sought the death penalty at the closing hearing of the second trial.
The second trial court ruled that the death penalty is a cruel punishment that deprives a person of life and should only be imposed in extremely exceptional cases.
"The death penalty can be imposed only after a thorough investigation into the profession, age, level of education, family relationships, motive for the crime, whether or not it was planned in advance, the means and methods of the crime, and the seriousness of the consequences," he said.
The second trial court also stated, "Considering the defendant's unfortunate upbringing, it is difficult to hold him entirely responsible," and "the defendant has no prior criminal history and there is no possibility of reform or reform."
"It is a difficult decision to make, but rather than deprive him of life, we would prefer to isolate him permanently to prevent him from reoffending and to allow him to live his life with a sense of atonement," he said, explaining the purpose of the sentence.