Housewife killer sentenced to life

A Seoul court on Thursday sentenced a convicted sex criminal to life in prison for killing a housewife after his failed rape attempt.

Seo Jin-hwan was charged with breaking into a house in Joonggok-dong on the eastern edge of Seoul in August, with the intent of raping the 37-year-old occupant. He stabbed her to death when she resisted.

The Seoul Eastern District Court also ordered Seo's information be made available to the public for 10 years and that he wear an electronic monitoring anklet for 20 years after his release from prison.

The news of the heinous crime sent a shockwave across the country when it was later revealed that 42-year-old Seo was an former convict who had raped another housewife just weeks beforehand.

Seo, with 12 previous convictions for charges including rape, robbery and assault, was not wearing his monitoring anklet at the time, despite having been ordered to do so.

Police came under fire for failing to properly manage former convicts and adequately monitor the electronic anklet system, which was first implemented in 2008.

"The defendant does not show any remorse for his crime despite having previously served prison terms several times for sex crimes," the court said in its ruling.

"The violence escalated to the point where he brutally committed another crime," the court said, adding that Seo should be isolated from society completely. (Yonhap)