After an unsuccessful appeal, the CEO of a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The appeal of the Chief Executive Officer of a cryptocurrency exchange in South Korea that was found guilty of killing his lover by stabbing her and shoving her out of a 19th-floor apartment window has been denied, and he will now serve a sentence of 25 years in jail for the crime.
The man, now 33 years old, was found guilty in July of his crime, but he has chosen to appeal the original verdict. In November 2021, when he was under the influence of narcotics, the anonymous accused is said to have assaulted his (also nameless) partner, who was in her 20s at the time. This information was presented to the court at the time. According to what the court heard, the man's lover went to the CEO and told him she wanted to stop their relationship.
According to Newspim (1), the CEO's legal team had made a plea for the violent act to be revised to manslaughter. They stated that the CEO was "mentally and physically weak" at the moment of the crime, and they told the court that the CEO "had been receiving psychiatric treatment for a long time."
The defense argued that the CEO complained of sleepiness and had difficulty managing his impulses while seeking psychiatric treatment.
However, the suit was dismissed by a judge working in the appeals court of the Seoul High Court. At the time of the crime, the CEO was working in the high-pressure industry of "virtual currency," according to the judge's statement.
What Did the Judge Say?
“It would appear that the defendant possessed normal judgment abilities in connection to his work in the cryptocurrency asset sector.”
The court also recorded evidence that the man stabbed his lover numerous times after attacking her with a knife and ultimately pushing her to her death.
According to what the judge heard, the CEO initially attacked the woman with the knife. But as she yelled while he was committing this brutal attack, he dragged her toward the window "in an effort to keep people from recognizing what he was doing." After that, he threw her out of the window in what appeared to have been an attempt to cover his tracks and make her death look like an accident.
The Reasons Behind the Court's Decision
The judge remarked in their sentencing that:
"At the time of the occurrence, the defendant was in complete command of his behavior. It does not appear that his mental or physical state played any role in how he carried out his acts. The accused is guilty of the heinous murder, and the penalty for this offense must be harsh."
Additionally, the CEO was given a punishment of $2,350. A witness testified in court that the defendant had a "severe" drug habit and admitted that he had used narcotics, including ketamine.
