Man who stabbed fiance 191 times to death gets 23 years in jail

A 23-year prison term has been confirmed for a South Korean man who killed his fiance by stabbing her 191 times, after the defendant did not appeal until the deadline Wednesday.

The sentence was issued by the Chuncheon branch of the Seoul High Court last week. The 28-year-old defendant, surnamed Ryu, had until Wednesday to file an appeal.

The prosecution, which initially requested a 25-year prison term for Ryu, did not appeal either, resulting in the sentence being confirmed.

Ryu was convicted of murder for killing his 24-year-old victim at around 12:47 p.m. on July 24 of last year at his home in the county of Yeongwol-gun in Gangwon Province. He claimed that he was under extreme stress from the conflict with his neighbors over noise, and that it suddenly dawned upon him that "killing his girlfriend would free him from stress."

But Ryu added that the victim called him "mentally retarded" at the last moment during the trial.

Ryu was initially sentenced to 17 years in prison by the lower court which found the murder to have been on a sudden urge. But the appellate court overturned the decision, saying his actions cannot be justified even considering the circumstances that he was in.

The court, however, did turn down the prosecution's request to have the suspect wear a GPS-enabled electronic anklet after his release.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)