Teen Sentenced to 20 Years for Brutal Christmas Murder of Classmate
A teenager, who was arrested and charged for the brutal murder of a classmate on Christmas Day last year in Sacheon, South Korea, has reportedly sent a letter to the deceased victim while incarcerated. According to SBS's program 'I Want to Know That,' the teen, identified as A, wrote a three-page letter to B, expressing his admiration for her rather than remorse for his actions. He began the letter with the phrase 'What I wanted to say to you,' and included statements such as, 'I would have been happy to burst my eardrums just to hear your voice' and 'If I could wrap your hair tie around my wrist, it would be worth more than any luxury watch.' A also expressed a self-deprecating view, stating, 'You are incredibly perfect, and compared to you, I am the worst.'
A's distorted idealization of B continued in the letter, where he recounted a dream he had of her after her death, saying, 'You appeared in my dream on December 28, and instead of asking why I killed you, you were smiling at me.' He reminisced about a moment they shared, stating, 'That brief moment when I saw you smile was truly happy for me,' and expressed a wish to talk and laugh with her again someday, ending with an apology.
On December 25, 2024, at around 8:50 PM, A allegedly attacked B with a pre-prepared weapon at the entrance of an apartment complex in Sacheon, resulting in her death. Prosecutors revealed that A had developed romantic feelings for B after meeting her in an open chat room in 2020. However, upon suspecting that she had a boyfriend in April 2024, he decided to kill her, believing it was better to eliminate her than to let her be with someone else. Over the next eight months, he purchased a weapon, gasoline, and a lighter, ultimately luring B under the pretense of giving her something.
On May 1, the Jinju branch of the Changwon District Court sentenced A to 20 years in prison and an additional 20 years of electronic monitoring. Under current law, a minor under 18 years old who commits a serious crime can face a maximum of 20 years in prison. A was 17 at the time of the crime, receiving the maximum sentence allowed under juvenile law. The court noted that A's actions were premeditated rather than impulsive, emphasizing the severity of his crime and the profound grief and pain inflicted on B's parents, who lost their only child.
