"Date me instead of him"... Man in his 20s gets suspended sentence after showing up with a weapon following rejection

Threatened Her Outside Her Home After She Rejected His Proposal to Date
Suspended Sentence Cites Clean Record Despite Victim's Plea for Severe Punishment

A man in his 20s who threatened a younger university acquaintance with a weapon after she rejected his proposal to date him was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years.

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Judge Jang Won-jeong of the Seoul Northern District Court's Criminal Division 13 announced on November 7 that he had sentenced A, 24, who was indicted on a charge of aggravated intimidation, to six months in prison, suspended for two years. The court also ordered him to undergo probation and complete 80 hours of community service.

A was put on trial on charges of threatening B, 20, a younger student at the same university, with a weapon after she rejected his proposal that she break up with her boyfriend and date him instead.

In the early hours of June 23, A proposed that B date him, and the two discussed the matter in a university club room and on the street in front of B's residence. At around 8 a.m. that day, when B said, "No matter how much I think about it, I don't think I should break up with my boyfriend," A went home.

However, A testified that he became angry during a phone call with B at around 7:20 p.m. that day, when she told him, "My feelings will never change, I won't go back on my decision, and we can never be together."

At around 8:10 p.m., A put a weapon he had kept at his home in a bag and went to B's residence. Investigators found that he told B, who was standing in front of the building's main entrance on the first floor, "I came to say goodbye one last time," then took the weapon out of his bag and threatened her.

Judge Jang said, "The defendant's actions were socially unacceptable: because of his obsession with and lingering feelings for the victim, he repeatedly spoke of death and pressured her to break up with her boyfriend, then went to see her with a weapon when things did not go his way." The judge also said, "The considerable psychological anxiety and distress this likely caused the victim, and the fact that she has pleaded for a severe punishment, are circumstances that weigh against the defendant."

However, the judge explained the reasons for the sentence, saying, "The defendant does not appear to have carried the weapon with the intention of harming the victim; he is still very young, has no prior criminal record, and appears capable of reform through probation and other measures. Taking these points into consideration, the execution of his prison sentence is suspended."

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