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Daughter serving life sentence for father’s murder acquitted after 24 years

Published: 07 Jan. 2025, 11:45 Updated: 07 Jan. 2025, 18:15

Kim Shin-hye speaks to the press after she was released from Jangheung Prison in South Jeolla on Jan. 6. [YONHAP]

Kim Shin-hye, a 47-year-old woman who had been serving a life sentence for murdering her father, has been acquitted 24 years after the incident.

The Gwangju District Court ruled on Monday during a retrial that Kim was not guilty of patricide. Kim was initially sentenced to life imprisonment in August 2000, and the sentence was finalized by the Supreme Court in March 2001.

Kim had been charged with murdering her 52-year-old father in Wando, South Jeolla, on March 7, 2000.

At the time, prosecutors accused Kim of mixing 30 sleeping pills into whiskey, giving it to her father at home and then driving him around before killing him. She was also accused of abandoning his body on a roadside about 6 kilometers (3.73 miles) from their home.

Prosecutors alleged that Kim committed the crime after taking out eight insurance policies in her father’s name, intending to stage the murder as a traffic accident and collect approximately 800 million won ($548,700) in payouts.

During the investigation, Kim initially confessed, stating that she intended to kill her father for sexually assaulting her and her younger sister. However, she recanted her testimony during the trial, denying the charges.

Kim claimed that her confession was false and influenced by her uncle’s statement that her younger sister might have killed their father. Concerns about the legitimacy of the police investigation led to the retrial being approved by the court in November 2015.

The court ruled that Kim's confession could not be used as evidence, as she had denied the contents of her statements during the investigation.

"There is a possibility that Kim falsely confessed due to other motives, and the testimonies of relatives and police officers who heard her confession cannot be considered valid evidence," the court said.

The court also found it unclear whether her father's death resulted from the large quantity of sleeping pills allegedly given to him.

"The autopsy did not reveal any traces of powdered or pill-form medication in the victim's stomach," the court said. "Considering the victim's blood alcohol concentration was at 0.303 percent at the time of death, a state of severe intoxication that could cause motor impairment or coma, this could have caused death on its own."

Kim Shin-hye speaks to the press after she was released from Jangheung Prison in South Jeolla on Jan. 6. [YONHAP]

During the retrial’s concluding hearing, prosecutors argued that Kim had acted out of resentment toward her father for sexually abusing her and her younger sister.

However, the court said it was "difficult to acknowledge that the victim engaged in sexual misconduct" in its ruling.

Kim, who had been detained at Jangheung Prison, was released immediately following the court’s decision.

"I have many thoughts about whether it should have taken decades to correct something that was wrong,” Kim said upon her release. "I deeply regret not being able to protect my father, who suffered so much and passed away."

Kim received a bouquet of flowers from others who had been wrongfully imprisoned, including Jang Dong-ik, who was falsely accused in the Nakdong River murder case, and Yoon Sung-yeo, who was wrongfully accused in the Hwaseong serial murders.

"The strength of the truth claimed by the defendant over 24 years was the most powerful evidence,” said lawyer Park Jun-yeong, who represented Kim during the retrial. “The truth always comes to light. I am grateful to the judges who conducted the trial fairly and without prejudice, and to the citizens who supported us.”

If the prosecution appeals Tuesday's decision, the case could proceed to a second trial and possibly a Supreme Court review.

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]