Teenager Who Murdered Fellow High School Girl on Christmas Sentenced to 20 Years, Maximum Under Juvenile Act

A teenage boy who was put on trial for murdering a fellow high school girl on Christmas Day last year has been sentenced to the maximum penalty under the Juvenile Act.

The Criminal Division 1 of the Jinju Branch of the Changwon District Court in Gyeongnam (Presiding Judge Kim Kidong) sentenced the teenage defendant, referred to as A, to 20 years in prison and ordered him to wear an electronic location tracking device for 20 years on May 1 for murder.

Under current law, minors under the age of 18 who commit certain serious violent crimes, and would otherwise face the death penalty or life imprisonment, may be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Changwon District Court, Gyeongnam. Photo by Se Ryeong Lee

According to the court, A was charged with wielding a weapon and fatally attacking a teenage girl, referred to as B, at the entrance of an apartment in Sacheon, Gyeongnam, at around 8:50 p.m. on December 25 last year.

Living in the Gangwon region, A traveled to Sacheon, where B lived?a girl he had met four years earlier in a group chat?and lured her out by saying he had something to give her, before committing the crime with a weapon he had brought in advance.

It was determined that A acted out of jealousy, believing B had a new boyfriend. At the time of the crime, A was 17 years old.

The court stated, "The defendant's crime was not an act of impulsive anger or violence, but a meticulously premeditated murder, and the severity of the guilt is grave. The method of the crime was also brutal, as the defendant repeatedly struck vital areas with a weapon, directly threatening life."

The court continued, "It is impossible to fully comprehend the grief, pain, anger, and wounds that the parents, who lost their only child due to the defendant's actions, must endure. Therefore, the court imposes the highest sentence permitted under the Juvenile Act."

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