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| Kwon Jae-chan / Yonhap |
A district court imposed a rare death sentence on a 53-year-old man, Thursday, after he was found guilty of killing a woman for money in December last year, and then also murdering an accomplice.
The man, Kwon Jae-chan, was charged with robbery and corpse abandonment in the double murder case after allegedly strangling the 50-something female acquaintance to death at a building in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, Dec. 4.
He used her credit card to withdraw cash from an ATM and stole her jewelry while the woman's body was kept inside the trunk of a car.
The following day, Kwon murdered and buried a 40-something male accomplice on a hill near Eulwangri Beach on Yeongjong Island off the coast of Incheon.
Delivering the capital punishment, the Incheon District Court pointed out Kwon appeared to have no possibility of reformation and showed no signs of serious repentance.
"Recovery of humanity cannot be expected from the accused," the court said, adding it was giving the death penalty to hold him accountable and prevent the recurrence of a similar crime.
Kwon was also order to wear a tracking device for 30 years.
Since its last execution Dec. 30, 1997, Korea has not carried out the death penalty, and is globally categorized as "abolitionist in practice."
Imposing capital punishment is still permissible under the law, and at the end of 2020, 60 people were in prison after getting the death penalty. (Yonhap)
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