Man who killed girlfriend, stored body in kimchi refrigerator sentenced to 30 years
Published: 29 Jan. 2026, 17:09
Updated: 29 Jan. 2026, 17:19
![The man who murdered his girlfriend and stored the body in a kimchi refrigerator, center, is seen at the Gunsan branch of the Jeonju District Court in North Jeolla on Sept. 30. 2025. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/29/91d22b5e-62b7-436e-a283-49ceaa80860a.jpg)
The man who murdered his girlfriend and stored the body in a kimchi refrigerator, center, is seen at the Gunsan branch of the Jeonju District Court in North Jeolla on Sept. 30. 2025. [YONHAP]
A man who strangled his girlfriend to death and kept the body in a kimchi refrigerator for almost a year was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
The Gunsan branch of the Jeonju District Court in North Jeolla on Thursday sentenced the man on charges including murder and abandonment of a corpse.
Prosecutors had sought life imprisonment during the sentencing hearing held in December last year, saying the defendant had committed a grave crime and should be permanently isolated from society.
“Human life must be absolutely respected and protected regardless of age or status, yet the defendant killed the victim by strangling her following an argument,” the court said. “The defendant further desecrated and violated the deceased’s final dignity by abandoning the body in a cold kimchi refrigerator for 11 months.”
A kimchi refrigerator is an appliance used by many households in Korea for storing kimchi.
“Although the defendant claims to be remorseful and repentant, he has made no effort whatsoever to repair the harm suffered by the victim to date,” the court added. “Considering the irreversible wounds inflicted on the victim and the bereaved family, a severe sentence and long-term isolation are necessary.”
The man is accused of killing a girlfriend he had been dating for four years by strangling her at a villa in Jochon-dong, Gunsan, on Oct. 20, 2024, then placing the body in a bag and abandoning it in a kimchi refrigerator.
![The man who murdered his girlfriend and stored the body in a kimchi refrigerator, left, is seen at the Gunsan branch of the Jeonju District Court in North Jeolla on Sept. 30. 2025. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/01/29/12e8243d-1d3f-4b32-87c8-8206e1b84465.jpg)
The man who murdered his girlfriend and stored the body in a kimchi refrigerator, left, is seen at the Gunsan branch of the Jeonju District Court in North Jeolla on Sept. 30. 2025. [NEWS1]
Investigators found that he later took out loans totaling about 88 million won ($61,600) in the victim’s name and used the money for living expenses.
After the crime, he continued to contact the victim’s family using her mobile phone, pretending that she was still alive.
Growing suspicious, as the victim would only communicate through messaging apps and never answered phone calls, the victim’s sister filed a missing persons report with police in September last year.
When police later contacted the victim’s phone, the man had another woman he was living with answer the call.
After repeated questioning by police, the woman who picked up the phone admitted, “I am not the person you are looking for,” leading to the case being uncovered. The crime came to light 11 months after it had occurred.
During police questioning, the man reportedly shifted blame to the victim, saying he acted in anger after being belittled for failing to invest in stocks as advised and suffering losses.
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]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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