Man in his 20s requests jury trial after stabbing neighbor to death dozens of times over noise complaint

A man in his 20s charged with stabbing his upstairs neighbor to death dozens of times over a noise complaint has requested a jury trial. A court is expected to decide whether to grant the request at a pretrial hearing next month.

According to the Daegu District Court's Seo Branch, the defendant, identified only as A, submitted a request form for a citizen jury trial Sunday.

South Korea's citizen jury trial system allows randomly selected members of the public to serve as jurors in criminal cases, delivering a verdict on the defendant's guilt or innocence and offering sentencing recommendations.

Following A's request, the Seo Branch transferred the case to the main Daegu District Court. Criminal Division 11 will hold a pretrial hearing on July 8 to consider whether to accept or reject the jury trial request.

A precedent for a noise-related killing proceeding as a jury trial dates to 2013, when a man who stabbed two brothers to death in an apartment in Myeongmok-dong, Jungnang-gu, Seoul, was tried before a citizen jury.

If the request is denied, the case will proceed through ordinary trial proceedings at the Daegu District Court.

A was indicted on charges of stabbing his upstairs neighbor, a man in his 50s identified as B, to death dozens of times inside an elevator at an apartment in Pyeongni-dong, Seo-gu, on May 9.

A had waited for the elevator B was riding down, boarded it when the doors opened, and carried out the attack with a weapon he had brought with him.

He told police he committed the crime out of frustration over noise from the unit above his.