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Man who fatally assaulted girlfriend in Japan sentenced to 10 years in prison by Seoul court

Published: 29 Jan. 2026, 21:09

Close-up of a court gavel [GETTY IMAGES BANK]

A man who fatally assaulted a woman he was dating in Japan’s Hyogo Prefecture 11 years ago was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Seoul court.

The Seoul Eastern District Court sentenced the man, surnamed Kim, last Friday, legal sources said on Thursday.

Kim had been indicted on charges of murder and extortion. However, the court only convicted him of infliction of bodily injury resulting in death.

Since the court found that Kim did not harbor any intent to kill, it could not charge him with murder. The court also rejected the prosecution's charge of extortion due to a lack of evidence. It explained that for extortion to be established, there must be proof of the defendant obtaining property or financial gain, which was not proven in this case.

Kim was accused of fatally assaulting Cho, a Korean international student with whom he had been living, at a residence in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, on May 26, 2015.

Investigations revealed that Kim forced Cho to report her every move to him, interfering in all aspects of her daily life, and verbally abused her when she failed to comply.

“The victim, who was a [...] college student at the time, had her life cut short before she could even pursue her dreams due to the defendant’s actions,” the court said in its ruling. “The degree of violence was significant, and the defendant has yet to be forgiven by the victim’s family.”

Although Kim was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the court noted that he had already served eight years in Japan, leaving roughly two years of actual prison time in Korea.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [[email protected]]