Seoul to ask Tokyo to tackle murder case

By Kang Hyun-kyung

The government will ask Japanese prosecutors to reconsider a decision not to appeal a court ruling on the death of a South Korean citizen, an official said Thursday.

The two sides will hold a meeting to address the issue in the near future.

“We hope that there will be a more thorough investigation on the case in view of the bereaved family’s stance on the court ruling and that the Japanese prosecution will reconsider its decision not to appeal,” said Cho Byung-jae, the spokesman at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Kim Sung-hwan wrote on his Twitter account Tuesday that “we have been in touch with the family of the deceased and the Japanese prosecution, and have sent an official document to the latter asking it to reconsider its decision.” Kim added that Seoul will consult with a Japanese lawyers’ group and also raise the issue with Tokyo.

Last week, the ministry sent documents to Japan’s prosecution through the Korean consulate in Niigata Prefecture.

A local court in Kanazawa, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture, handed down a nine-year jail term to a 61-year-old Japanese man who killed a Korean woman, identified only as Kang.

The victim, a South Korean national, was 31 years old when she was killed. The Japanese man beat her to death and then cut off her head. He disposed of the head and torso separately on a nearby mountain.

The court said the Korean woman died after “being injured,” and was not murdered.

The Japanese prosecution didn’t appeal the court ruling, saying it didn’t have any hard evidence supporting the murder allegation.

While the appeals deadline expired on June 10, Seoul officials said that if the victim’s head is found, it could provide the evidence that she was murdered.

Seoul officials said they will continue to ask the Japanese police to cooperate in the search for the head.