The Murder of Ko Joon-hee refers to the murder of a five-year-old girl in Jeonju-si, South Korea. Ko Joon-hee was killed in November 2017 in Eau-dong, Jeonju-si, South Korea. Initially, the police were notified that a five-year-old child had gone missing. However, after a thorough investigation, Ko Joon-hee was found to have been murdered due to physical abuse by her biological father. The father, Ko Byung-sik, his common-law-wife, and his mother-in-law had conspired to murder and abandon the child. Due to the brutality of the case, a wave of shock resonated throughout the country of South Korea.[1]
Ko Joon-hee | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 2011 or 2012 |
| Died | (aged 5) Jeonju, South Korea |
| Cause of death | Shock (homicide) |
| Known for | Murder victim |
Crime
editKo Joon-hee went missing on November 18, 2017. One month later, on December 8, Joon-hee's paternal grandmother reported the disappearance to the police.[2]
With the family's consent, the police collected DNA samples and asked the National Institute of Scientific Investigation to conduct an inspection.[3][4] Investigators found that Ko Joon-hee had been buried on a hill in Gunsan, and that she had died of shock caused by physical abuse which included at least three broken ribs at the time of her death.[5] The family later gave testimony on the whereabouts of their missing daughter. However, the police suspected that the statements and timelines on the sequence of events were not consistent, and they began to suspect that Ko Joon-hee had been murdered by her father.[3] As a result, the police continued investigating the father.[6][7][8][9]
Trial and prosecution
editIn the first trial on June 29, 2018, the prosecutors demanded life-in-prison for Ko Joon-hee's father on charges of homicide by abuse. However, the court sentenced him to 20 years in prison.[10]
After the trial, the father filed an appeal, saying the sentence from the first trial was too heavy.[11] Prosecutors also appealed, arguing that the sentence was too light.[12]
The appellate court of the second trial, Gwangju High Court, also judged that Ko was the main culprit in the child's abuse and consequent death, similar to the verdict of the first trial. The court also ruled that his wife, Lee, was the accomplice and charged her with active neglect and abuse of the child.[13] The court also upheld the original ruling of 160 hours of enrollment in a treatment program on child abuse for the father and his wife.[14] Furthermore, the court rejected an appeal by Ko's wife, Lee, who was sentenced to four years in prison in the first trial, who helped to bury the child.[15]
On May 9, 2019, the Supreme Court upheld the original ruling, rejecting both the defendant's and the prosecution's appeals and finally sentencing the biological father, Ko, to 20 years in prison and his wife, Lee, to 10 years in prison.[16] Lee's mother, identified only by her surname, Kim, was also sentenced to four years in prison.[17]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ 박, 임근 (December 29, 2017). "'실종' 고준희양, 8개월 전 숨져 친아버지가 암매장" ['disappearance' Ko Joon-hee, secretly buried his biological father who had died eight months earlier.]. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). Retrieved December 28, 2020.
- ^ 김, 유민 (December 29, 2017). "'친부 암매장' 고준희 실종사건…"자연사 아닌 폭행치사 의심"" [The disappearance of Ko Jun-hee in the paternity store..."Doubtful assault and murder, not natural death."]. Seoul Shinmun (in Korean). Retrieved December 27, 2020.
- ^ a b 이, 정민. "'고준희양 실종 34일'…경찰, 강력범죄에 무게" [Go Joon-hee is missing 34 days...Police, heavy on violent crime.]. 뉴스원 (in Korean). Retrieved December 27, 2020.
- ^ 김, 동욱 (January 25, 2018). "[이슈+] '고준희양 암매장 사건' 살인 아닌 아동학대치사 혐의 왜? – 세계일보" [[Problem+] Go Joon-hee's cancer burial case, not murder, but child abuse charges. Why?]. Segye Ilbo. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
- ^ "Father's beating caused Jun-hee's death, forensic investigators say" [The National Forensic Service (NFS) said she died from external shock, according to North Jeolla Province Police Agency.]. The Korea Times. May 1, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
- ^ 김, 준희 (January 25, 2018). ""5세 준희, 사시도 자폐증도 아니었다" 검찰, 친부·내연녀 모녀 구속기소" [The five-year-old Jun-hee was neither an autistic person nor an illegitimate child.]. JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved December 27, 2020.
- ^ 김, 석진 (December 31, 2017). "고준희양 친부, '어금니 아빠'닮은... '못된 정황들'" [Like Ko Jun-hee's biological father, "Molar Daddy." Bad circumstances.]. CBC뉴스 (in Korean). Retrieved December 27, 2020.
- ^ 백, 세종 (January 22, 2018). ""고준희양 암매장 전날 오전 사망"" [Ko Jun-hee died the morning before the day before the cancer burial.]. 전북일보 인터넷신문 (in Korean). Retrieved December 27, 2020.
- ^ 오, 경묵 (July 20, 2020). "[속보] 고준희양 친부 "이혼소송 영향 미칠까 숨진 딸 유기"" [[Breaking news] Ko Joon-hee's biological father said, "Daughter Abandoned in case of divorce."]. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved December 27, 2020.
- ^ 김, 동철. "'고준희양 학대치사·암매장' 친부에 징역 20년…동거녀엔 10년" [20 years in prison for the father of Ko Joon-hee's abuse and burial...10 years for a girl in the same house]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved December 27, 2020.
- ^ 김, 동철 (July 5, 2018). ""형량 무겁다"…징역 20년형 받은 고준희양 친부 항소" ["The sentence is heavy"...Ko Jun-hee's paternity appeal sentenced to 20 years in prison]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved December 28, 2020.
- ^ 조, 선우. "'고준희 양 사망 사건' 피고인들 항소 기각" [Defendant Appeals Rejected 'Ko Jun-hee's Death Case']. KBS News (in Korean). Retrieved December 28, 2020.
- ^ 정, 경재 (December 29, 2018). "[고준희양 사건 그후] ①친부·동거녀 학대에 희생된 다섯 살배기" [A 5 year old man who was victimized by abuse of his biological father and cohabitation.]. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved December 28, 2020.
- ^ 이, 승엽 (August 31, 2020). "5살 고준희 한을 푼 결정적 단서 '최면수사'서 나왔다" [Five-year-old Ko Jun-hee came from the "hypnosis investigation."]. Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved December 28, 2020.
- ^ 김, 현서 (June 1, 2018). "'고준희양 암매장 사건' 친부-동거녀 이씨, "엄벌이 불가피하다"며 각각 무기징역 선고돼…이씨 어머니 징역 7년 구형 – 김현서" [Lee, a biological father-daughter of Ko Joon-hee, was sentenced to life in prison, saying, "It's inevitable to be a parent." Lee, Ko's wife, was sentenced to seven years in prison.]. 톱스타뉴스 (in Korean). Retrieved December 28, 2020.
- ^ 이, 성기 (May 9, 2019). "대법, '친딸 살해 암매장' 비정한 아버지에 징역20년 확정" [The Supreme Court upheld a 20-year prison term for a heartless father who killed his own daughter.]. 이데일리 (in Korean). Retrieved December 27, 2020.
- ^ 김, 태원 (December 29, 2017). ""동거녀는 정말 아무 것도 몰랐을까" 전주 고준희 양 실종사건 전말" ["Didn't she really know anything?" Before the disappearance of Ko Jun-hee in Jeonju.]. 일요신문 (in Korean). Retrieved December 27, 2020.