A woman who killed her own daughter has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in an appellate trial, after the court said she meticulously planned the crime and showed no remorse.
Gwangju High Court recently upheld the conviction while imposing a heavier sentence than the 12-year prison term handed down by the lower court. The defendant, in her 60s, has been accused of murdering her 33-year-old daughter on Feb. 12, 2023, citing what she claimed to be insurmountable debt.
The defendant accumulated about 300 million won ($217,454) of debt via her restaurant business, with about 50 to 60 million won under the victim's name. The defendant drugged the victim at their home and strangled her to death, and said she did it out of despair, believing they would never be able to repay the debt.
The prosecution claimed that the earlier ruling was too lenient given the gravity of her crime.
"The young daughter had dreams and she would've wanted to live, even if she had debt because of her mother,” it said during the trial.
"The defendant took the life of her family for an unacceptable reason of 'psychological pressure for the victim.' This is unacceptable," the high court said in its ruling.
It also pointed out that the defendant had prepared the drugs for the murder in advance, while looking up the method of killing online. This shows that it was a planned killing, the court said.
The lawyer for the defendant pleaded for a lenient punishment, given that she has admitted the charge and is showing remorse. But the court said she has been resorting to making excuses for the murder such as claiming she does not remember.
The defendant claimed that she also took a lot of sleeping pills at the time of the murder, and that she does not recall the specifics.
"Even during the earlier trial she (the defendant) has been making unacceptable excuses. She has dodged responsibility in the appellate trial, which cannot be seen as being remorseful," the court said.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
