'Gosiwon murderer' sentenced to life for rape and murder of woman

A gosiwon (or private dormitory) in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, on Feb. 6. A month earlier, on Jan. 4, a man in his 40s murdered a woman in her 20s who lived on the same floor. Korea Times photo by Moon Ji-soo

A man in his 40s has been sentenced to life in prison for raping and killing a woman in her 20s who lived in the same gosiwon, a low-cost, single-room housing facility in Seoul.

The Seoul Southern District Court’s Criminal Division 15, presided over by Judge Yang Hwan-seung, handed down a life sentence to the 44-year-old defendant, surnamed Lee, on charges of rape and murder on Tuesday.

The court also ordered the disclosure of his personal information for 10 years, imposed a 10-year employment ban and mandated electronic monitoring with an ankle bracelet for 20 years.

“The defendant had no mitigating circumstances for his motive or actions. The method of the crime was brutal and the outcome was devastating,” the court said in its ruling. “The victim died in extreme pain, and her family continues to suffer irreversible psychological trauma.”

Lee had previously attempted to rape and rob another young woman with whom he had no prior acquaintance.

“Despite this past offense, he committed another sexual crime that ultimately took a life,” the court said. “He must be permanently removed from society to prevent further harm and reflect on his actions during his imprisonment.”

According to prosecutors, Lee committed the crime on Jan. 4 around 10 p.m. at a gosiwon in Dorim-dong, Yeongdeungpo District, where he and the victim were staying in separate rooms. He turned himself in at a nearby police station the following afternoon and was taken into custody.

Prosecutors had sought life imprisonment along with 30 years of electronic monitoring and enrollment in a sexual violence treatment program.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.