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Court upholds life sentence for man who murdered woman, attempted to kill her mother

Published: 21 May. 2025, 13:24 Updated: 21 May. 2025, 19:31

A mugshot of stalker Seo Dong-ha [YONHAP]

A Daegu high court upheld a life sentence for 35-year-old Seo Dong-ha, convicted of stalking and killing a woman and also attempting to kill her mother last November.

The court dismissed the appeals filed by both the prosecution and the defendant during a hearing held Wednesday.

In the initial trial, Seo was sentenced to life in prison for retaliatory murder and other charges.

“While Seo deposited a significant amount of money with the court in a symbolic gesture of remorse, the victim’s family rejected the offer and demanded a heavy punishment,” said the appellate court. “In light of this, the deposit does not constitute new mitigating evidence that would warrant a change in sentencing.”

“The reasons for appeal presented by both the defendant and the prosecution appear to have already been sufficiently considered by the lower court.”

Seo was indicted for fatally stabbing the woman he had been stalking at her apartment in Gumi last November. He also attempted to kill the victim’s mother, who was present at the scene, but failed.

Investigators found that Seo had previously committed crimes including property damage, breaking and entering and stalking against the same woman. He was reported to the police, and, in retaliation, he planned and carried out the murder.

Before announcing the verdict, the court delivered a scathing rebuke to Seo, stating that “the victim was brutally stabbed to death with a weapon wielded by the defendant.”

“Her life was taken in a senseless act of violence,” said the court. “Her mother, who was hospitalized in an intensive care unit, could not even attend her daughter’s funeral.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]