A Seoul appellate court on Tuesday upheld a lower court’s ruling to sentence a former police officer to 14 years in prison for murdering his mistress.

Chung Wan-geun, 41, was found guilty of murdering a 40-year-old woman surnamed Lee, who was found dead at a closed fishery in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, in July 2013.

The prosecution initially asked the court to sentence the defendant to 20 years behind bars, but the Seoul High Court reduced the imprisonment period.

“Heavy punishment was appropriate for a defendant who made a major ethical violation as a police officer,” presiding judge Lim Sang-gi said in his ruling.

According to court records, the defendant strangled Lee, who was then pregnant with his baby, in his car parked near a reservoir in Gunsan on July 24. The two found out about Lee’s pregnancy in mid-July, the records show.

The prosecution had claimed that the ex-police officer killed Lee after the victim refused to have an abortion and threatened to call his wife to let her know about the affair. Chung offered 3 million won ($2,800) to pay for the abortion, only to anger the victim further.

After murdering Lee, Chung undressed the victim and dumped her body about 5 kilometers from the crime scene.

Throughout the trial, the prosecution has claimed that heavy punishment is necessary for Chung, who fled after denying the allegations and generating confusion in the investigation. 


By Suk Gee-hyun
(monicasuk@heraldcorp.com)