Man receives life sentence for murdering parents, wife, two daughters

A life sentence has been finalized for a man who murdered five family members — his parents, wife and two daughters — after administering sleeping pills to them.

Close up of a court mallet [GETTY IMAGES BANK]

A life sentence has been finalized for a man who murdered five family members — his parents, wife and two daughters — after administering sleeping pills to them.

The Suwon High Court upheld a life sentence for the man, identified only by his surname Lee, on charges including the murder of lineal ascendants, multiple counts of murder and violations of the Act on the Control of Narcotics on Dec. 24, 2025, legal sources said Monday.

The ruling became final after neither the defendant nor prosecutors filed an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Lee had repeatedly asked the court to impose the heaviest possible punishment, including the death penalty, saying he would “accept any sentence.” He did not appeal the first trial ruling, which also sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Prosecutors sought the death penalty in both the first and second trials and appealed the initial ruling. However, they ultimately accepted the appellate court’s decision.

“The appellate court thoroughly explained its sentencing rationale on the day of the ruling and even conducted a comparative analysis of cases in which the death penalty was actually carried out,” prosecutors said. “After internal deliberations, we decided not to pursue a further appeal.”

In its ruling, the appellate court described the crime as “a heartbreaking act so tragic it is difficult to put into words.” While acknowledging that there were ample grounds to impose a severe punishment, as argued by prosecutors, the court said it was difficult to conclude that the case involved exceptional circumstances warranting the death penalty. The judges cited an analysis of 15 cases since 2004 in which death sentences were finalized.

Lee was indicted on charges of murdering five family members at his apartment in Suji District, Yongin, Gyeonggi, on the night of April 14 last year. Prosecutors said he gave them sleeping pills before strangling them one by one.

After the killings, Lee left a note indicating his intent to “kill everyone and then kill myself” and fled to a mixed-use building in Gwangju, where he was staying for business. He was arrested by the police the following morning.

Investigators said Lee, a former head of a housing construction company, planned the murders after becoming burdened with debts totaling tens of billions of won amid civil and criminal lawsuits related to private apartment construction and sales projects in Gwangju.

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 HYEON YE-SEUL [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]