South Korean prosecutors have requested the death penalty for four suspects in a high-profile crypto murder-kidnap case. The incident, which occurred in the affluent Gangnam District in Seoul in March this year, involved the abduction and murder of a woman for her cryptocurrency holdings.
The Crime and the Victims
The woman is believed to have worked at a crypto-related firm and held large amounts of tokens, such as Bitcoin (BTC).
The suspects, who are currently on trial in Seoul Central District Court, initially claimed that the woman’s death was an accident. However, they have since confessed to kidnapping the victim and attempting to steal her coins.
South Korea still retains the death penalty, although it has not been carried out since 1997. Almost 60 people remain on death row in the country. However, the nation has not formally abolished capital punishment.
Following the discovery of the victim’s body near a dam in the city of Daejeon, police arrested and charged seven individuals in connection with the crime. Prosecutors have identified Lee Kyung-woo as the mastermind behind the murder-kidnap, with Hwang Dae-han as his alleged main accomplice. It is suspected that the couple, Yoo Sang-won and Hwang Eun-hee, paid Lee and the others to carry out the crime.
The Prosecution’s Demands
The prosecution has requested the death penalty for all four main suspects: Lee Kyung-woo, Hwang Dae-han, Yoo Sang-won, and Hwang Eun-hee.
Furthermore, the prosecution has asked the court to sentence Yeon Ji-ho to life imprisonment for his role in assisting Lee and Hwang Dae-han with the murder. Prosecutors assert that the duo meticulously planned and premeditated the killing, with Yoo Sang-won and Hwang Eun-hee compensating the perpetrators with a sum of approximately $52,000.
During the trial, Lee retracted his previous confession, alleging that it had been coerced by corrupt police officers. In addition to the death penalty requests, prosecutors have also demanded a five-year prison sentence for Lee’s wife and a seven-year jail term for an alleged accomplice who backed out shortly before the planned killing.
