Prosecutors sought the death sentence Thursday for a 48-year-old man accused of strangling his wife and two daughters due apparently to enemployment and a business failure.
The defendant, identified only by his surname Kang, has been charged with murdering his 44-year-old wife and two daughters, aged 14 and 8, in January after struggling to find a job since 2012.
He had also lost about 300 million won ($270,000) in stock trading and was suffering from depression after failing to make ends meet despite graduating from a prestigious university, prosecutors said.
Kang reported himself to the police by phone the next day, but made it to Munkyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, about 150 kilometers southeast of Seoul, from Seoul by car.
He had planned to commit suicide near a lake but was caught on the highway.
Prosecutors said Kang appeared unrepentant, feeling more sorry over his failure to take his own life than killing his family. Kang’s attorney asked for leniency, citing depression.
A psychiatric evaluation showed Kang’s mental condition may not have been severe enough to cloud his judgment, said Judge Choi Chang-yeong at the Seoul Central District Court.
South Korea maintains the death penalty, though it has not carried out an execution since 1997. In 2007, Amnesty International categorized South Korea as a country that has “virtually abolished capital punishment.” Currently, 57 convicts are on death row. (Yonhap)
