Man sentenced to life imprisonment for Siheung stabbings

A Chinese national was sentenced to life imprisonment Wednesday for murdering two fellow Chinese nationals and attempting to kill two Korean citizens in May.

Che Zhenan, a Chinese national accused of killing two acquaintances over a money dispute and attacking two neighbors out of resentment, gets escorted to a court hearing for a warrant review at the Siheung Police Precinct in Janggok-dong, Siheung, Gyeonggi, on May 21. [NEWS1]

A Chinese national was sentenced to life imprisonment Wednesday for murdering two fellow Chinese nationals and attempting to kill two Korean citizens in May.

The Suwon District Court found Che Zhenan guilty of murder and attempted murder, saying, “Human life is invaluable, yet the defendant meticulously planned the crime and its consequences were horrific.” Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Che during a hearing on Oct. 15.

“The defendant’s crimes claimed the lives of two innocent victims, and the two survivors are still receiving treatment while suffering psychological trauma,” the court said. “Despite this, the defendant has shown no remorse and even bragged about his crimes. The fact that the victims’ families have not forgiven him was also taken into account in sentencing.”

Che was accused of bludgeoning to death two ethnic Korean-Chinese brothers on May 17 — one inside his home in Jeongwang-dong, Siheung, Gyeonggi, and the other at the brothers’ nearby residence.

Two days later, on May 19, he allegedly stabbed a woman who ran a convenience store near his home at 9:34 a.m., and a man in his 70s — his landlord — at a nearby park at 1:21 p.m. Both victims survived.

During police questioning, Che reportedly said he killed the brothers because they had failed to repay him about 30 million won ($20,400) that he had lent them in Chinese currency.

Investigators believe that, after the murders, Che fell into despair thinking his life was over and decided to attack the store owner and landlord, whom he believed had insulted or spoken ill of him.

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 JEONG HYE-JEONG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]