SEOUL– A 36-year-old man was sentenced to 35 years in prison Thursday for brutally murdering his ex-girlfriend whom he had stalked for months after the couple broke up.
Kim Byung-chan was found guilty of stabbing the victim multiple times at her studio apartment in central Seoul in November of last year. He had stalked her since their breakup in the second half of 2020.
The Seoul Central District Court also ordered him to wear a tracking device for 15 years.
The prosecution earlier sought a life sentence for Kim.
The case has drawn public fury upon revelations the victim was under police protection after filing four complaints against Kim’s stalking. The woman also received a restraining order against Kim from a court.
On the day of her death, she made two emergency calls via a smartwatch provided by the police. Officers, however, arrived at the scene too late to stop the murder due to the device’s malfunctioning.
Police publicly disclosed Kim’s personal information last year, including his name and a photo of his face, a decision police reserve for suspects deemed guilty of heinous crimes.
Source: Yonhap News Agency