Man sentenced to life in prison for murdering high school student in Gwangju

GWANGJU — A court on Wednesday sentenced a 23-year-old man to life in prison for murdering a female high school student in the southwestern city in May.

The Gwangju District Court handed down the sentence to Jang Yoon-gi after finding him guilty of rape-murder and other charges. The court also ordered Jang to wear an electronic tracking device and banned him from working at institutions serving children, adolescents and the disabled for 10 years from his release, if he is ever released.

Jang was charged with killing 16-year-old Lee Chae-won on a street in Gwangju, 270 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on May 5 after his attempt to kidnap her with intent to rape failed.

Jang was also charged with attempting to kill a 17-year-old male student who had rushed to the scene to help the victim, raping a Vietnamese woman two days earlier and illegally filming a teenage girl's body in the past. Prosecutors had demanded the death penalty for Jang.

The court said the defendant was guilty of all charges and the prosecution's argument that he must be permanently isolated from society was reasonable.