Man who did 15 years for sexual assault, murder of student returns to jail for sexually assaulting colleague

A man who had spent 15 years in prison for the sexual assault and murder of an elementary school student received a seven-and-a-half year prison term on Monday for sexually assaulting a colleague.

An image of a statue of Justitia, the goddess of justice [KOREA JOONGANG DAILY]

A man who had spent 15 years in prison for the sexual assault and murder of an elementary school student received a seven-and-a-half-year prison term on Monday for sexually assaulting a colleague.

The Daejeon District Court sentenced the defendant for sexually assaulting the victim repeatedly and causing injury between May and July last year.

The court also ordered that, following his release, the defendant wear an electronic tracking device for 10 years, have his personal information disclosed to the public for 10 years, and be barred from working at facilities that involve children, adolescents or people with disabilities for 10 years.

Investigators said the defendant threatened the victim by showing his electronic tracking device and boasting about his criminal record.

In 2005, the defendant — then 16 years old — sexually assaulted an elementary school student who attended the same gym in Jeungpyeong County, North Chungcheong. He beat the victim to death when they resisted. He served a 15-year sentence for those crimes.

“The nature of the crime is grave, given the method and level of harm,” the court said. “The defendant previously served a prison sentence for rape and murder, yet committed another offense, which makes him highly blameworthy.

“The victim suffered extreme sexual humiliation and psychological trauma from this case and has called for a heavy sentence. Despite this, the defendant has made no effort to help the victim recover.”

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 [paik.jihwan@joongang.co.kr]