Man in His 40s Sentenced to 30 Years for Killing Girlfriend and Hiding Body in Refrigerator

Appeal Dismissed as Supreme Court Finds No Fault in Lower Court's Judgment

A man in his 40s who killed his girlfriend and hid her body in a kimchi refrigerator has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, with the sentence now finalized.

Supreme Court, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to the legal community on September 23, the Supreme Court’s First Petty Bench (Presiding Justice Shin Sookhee) recently upheld the lower court’s verdict sentencing Mr. A, who was charged with murder, abandonment of a corpse, and computer fraud, to 30 years in prison.

Mr. A was indicted for strangling his girlfriend Ms. B, with whom he had been in a relationship for four years, at an apartment in Jochon-dong, Gunsan City, in October 2024 and then concealing her body in a kimchi refrigerator. He was also accused of taking out a loan of 88 million won in Ms. B’s name after her death and using it for living expenses.

After committing the crime, Mr. A further impersonated Ms. B by contacting her family through her mobile phone to make it appear as if she were still alive.

The first trial court stated, “By abandoning the victim’s corpse in a cold kimchi refrigerator for 11 months, he defiled the body and stripped away its last dignity,” and sentenced him to 30 years in prison. The appellate court also maintained the 30-year sentence, reasoning that given the crime method and the degree of damage, there was no basis to reduce the sentence merely by depositing money with the court.

Mr. A appealed, but the Supreme Court also found no fault in the lower court’s judgment and dismissed the appeal.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.