By Rha Hae-sung, Park Si-soo
A man in his 50s who poured gasoline on his ex-girlfriend and set her alight was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The woman, also in her 50s, suffered serious burns and died of complications two weeks after the incident in March 2016.
The Seoul Southern District Court on Monday found the man guilty of attempted murder.
“It was a premeditated crime,” Judge Shim Gyu-hong said. “The ruling was made after taking into account the nature and circumstances of the crime and his criminal record that indicates there are high chances of him committing another crime.”
He had been convicted more than 20 times for violent acts.
The man lived with the woman for a year in 2005. She dumped him in 2006. He tried unsuccessfully to restore the broken relationship over 11 years.
In March 2016, the man visited the woman at work holding a bag containing a gasoline-filled container and a lighter. When she refused to talk to him, he opened the container, poured the gasoline onto her head and set her on fire.
Court documents showed the women suffered burns to 80 percent of her body.