Life imprisonment upheld for man over murder of bar owner

SEOUL, June 19 (Yonhap) -- The Seoul High Court on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling that sentenced a 53-year-old man to life imprisonment for killing the owner of a beer bar in 2002.

The court dismissed an appeal by the man, only identified by his surname Chang, citing that the accused's crime was cruel and the owner's death was not accidental.

He also "had not turned himself in or shown any sign of repentance to the victim" for nearly 15 years until he was arrested and detained, the court said, adding that although he belatedly admitted to his crime and reflected on himself, it is unavoidable for him to lead a life of atoning for what he did while being isolated from society for good.

Chang was indicted for allegedly murdering the owner of the bar in Seoul's Guro Ward and stealing money before he escaped on Dec. 14, 2002.

Shortly after the murder took place, police carried out open investigations to look for the murderer by creating a composite sketch but were unable to apprehend him.

In January 2016, police launched a reinvestigation of the case following the revision of the criminal procedure code, under which the statute of limitations on murders was abolished. Last year, they conducted state-of-the-art analysis on a fragmentary fingerprint that gave them a clue to catch the perpetrator.

namsh@yna.co.kr
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