Man who killed acquaintance over 'old' remark ordered to pay W150m in damages

A man whose murder conviction was upheld after he killed an acquaintance who called him "old" has been ordered to pay 150 million won ($111,000) in damages to the victim's family. The court noted that the perpetrator "continues to shift part of the blame for the crime onto the victim."

According to legal sources Wednesday, Judge Baek Seung-jun of the Incheon District Court's Civil Division 22 ruled in July in favor of the victim's family in a damages suit filed against the man, identified only as A, who is in his 70s. The family had sought 200 million won in compensation; the court awarded 150 million won.

The incident occurred around 11 p.m. in March 2024 at a villa in Incheon.

According to facts established by the court, A had been drinking with acquaintance B at his home when B made a remark he found dismissive. A grew enraged after B commented to the effect that he was old and washed up, and stabbed B multiple times with a weapon during the ensuing argument, killing him.

A was indicted on charges of murder. A court of first instance sentenced him to 17 years in prison in August 2024. At sentencing five months later, an appeals court increased the term to 23 years — an unusual outcome, as heavier sentences on appeal are rare.

The appeals court said the case "clearly reveals the defendant's disregard for human life and his ruthless determination to kill the victim," adding that "imposing a severe sentence is unavoidable."

The court went on to say that A "has made no effort to make amends, has shifted part of the responsibility for the crime onto the victim, and has shown no sincere remorse." It accepted the prosecution's appeal, finding the first-instance sentence "unreasonably lenient and outside the rational range of sentencing discretion."

That ruling was confirmed in March last year. A challenged the sentence as excessive, but the Supreme Court upheld the 23-year term, finding no grounds to consider it unduly harsh.

After the criminal conviction was finalized, B's family filed a civil suit against A seeking 200 million won in consolation damages. The civil court sided with the family.

The court said "the mental shock and suffering endured by the deceased and his family must have been extreme," and that "the gravity of the offense is very serious given the manner of the killing, in which A sought to maximize damage to the victim's body."

It set the consolation damages at 150 million won, citing A's failure to obtain forgiveness from the family, his complete lack of effort toward making amends, his continued attribution of partial blame to the deceased, and what it described as poor conduct following the killing.

That ruling has since been finalized. Neither party appealed the first-instance civil judgment.