![Family members of the late Lee Chae-won weep at a 49th-day memorial service held June 21 at the Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education Civic Governance Promotion Center in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju. Lee, who dreamed of becoming an emergency medical technician, was killed on May 5 — Children's Day — by Jang Yun-gi (23), who had targeted her as she walked home. [Newsis]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/07/27/news-p.v1.20260727.badb26f6343242979d7923f6e4967601_P1.jpg)
The family of the late Lee Chae-won appealed to the court Monday to impose the death penalty — the maximum sentence under law — on Jang Yun-gi (23), the man charged with murdering the Gwangju high school student, at his third trial hearing.
At the hearing held at Gwangju District Court, Lee's family read a statement urging the court to "honor the spirit of a child who was taken so unjustly, and to permanently remove the perpetrator from society by imposing the maximum sentence — the death penalty — so that our shattered family may hold onto at least one last hope."
"We lost our precious daughter to the brutal crime of a perpetrator who had absolutely no connection to us, and our family's life has been completely destroyed," the family said. "Waking up every morning is itself agony — it is hell."
They continued: "The perpetrator is still breathing, worrying about his parents and siblings, and dreaming of a future — but our Chae-won is no longer in this world. The only reason we barely hold on and resist the urge to follow our daughter is so that we can one day tell her: 'Mom and dad have cleared your name.'"
Jang was indicted on charges of killing Lee at around 12:10 a.m. on May 5 as she walked along a sidewalk near a school in Wolge-dong, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju.
Jang had previously submitted multiple letters of apology to the court, stating he was "sorry to the victim and her family." No additional letters had been submitted as of Monday's hearing.
husn7@heraldcorp.com
