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17-year jail term upheld for man who killed son, mother

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By Jun Ji-hye

The Supreme Court upheld Friday a 17-year prison term for a man who killed his son and mother, and then attempted to commit suicide with his wife.

He committed the crimes in April last year after being saddled with billions of won in debt, the court noted.

The man was indicted for having his son, who was 12 years old at the time, and his mother take a large dose of sleeping pills that led to their deaths.

He then attempted to commit suicide with his wife. He failed, while his wife died, thus adding a charge of abetting suicide in addition to the murders.

He and his wife decided to kill their family members as well as themselves after failing to pay off their debts that were incurred from the wife's real estate business.

The man pleaded guilty to the crimes and was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a district court.

But an appellate court raised the prison term to 17 years, saying, "Criminal law calls for a harsher punishment for those killing family members than other murderers. His son lost his life without even knowing the reason. "

The Supreme Court agreed with the appellate court, saying, "A 17-year-term was not unjust."


Jun Ji-hye jjh@koreatimes.co.kr


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