Man who killed neighbor after drunken argument pleads for leniency at appeal, vows to quit drinking

A man in his 50s who killed a neighbor during a drunken argument pleaded for leniency at his appeal hearing.

Judge Hwang Jin-hee of the Gwangju High Court's Second Criminal Division presided over the appeal hearing Tuesday for the defendant, identified only as A, who faces murder charges.

A is accused of killing his neighbor, a man in his 50s identified as B, on Feb. 4 on a street outside an apartment complex in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, while the two were drinking.

The two men lived in the same apartment building and had run into each other by chance before the argument broke out. B bought a knife at a nearby store and taunted A to "go ahead and stab me," at which point A retrieved his own knife from his home and carried out the attack.

B was taken to a hospital but died the same day from excessive bleeding caused by a stab wound to the neck.

The trial court sentenced A in April to 20 years in prison and ordered him to wear an electronic monitoring anklet for 10 years.

Both prosecutors and A appealed the first-instance ruling, each arguing the sentence was inappropriate.

At the appeal hearing, prosecutors said the victim "must have suffered extreme pain and the ever-closing fear of death until his final moment," adding that it was "difficult to even fathom the extent of the suffering he endured."

They further argued that the victim's family "has been living in unspeakable grief and pain since his death," and that the defendant "ultimately committed murder despite having been punished multiple times for violent crimes."

A's defense, meanwhile, sought leniency, citing among other factors that he had admitted to and shown remorse for the crime from the earliest stages of the investigation.

In his final statement, A said he had "committed a sin worthy of death against the victim and his family," and vowed: "I will truly quit drinking. I will never drink again and will spend the rest of my life in unconditional reflection and repentance."

The court will deliver its appeal ruling on Aug. 25 at 2 p.m.