Prosecutors sought a 15-year prison term on Thursday for the 55-year-old man who slashed the top U.S. envoy to South Korea earlier this year.
Kim Ki-jong is accused of attacking Amb. Mark Lippert with a knife at a breakfast function in Seoul on March 5, leaving the U.S. ambassador with deep gashes on his face and arm that needed more than 80 stitches.
Prosecutors charged Kim with attempted murder, violence against a foreign envoy and business obstruction, as well as with violating the National Security Law, which prohibits citizens from supporting or praising North Korea.
“There is clear intent to murder since (Kim) had a strong will to attack and chose a knife to repeatedly slash the part of the body that had direct connection with life,” said a prosecutor during Kim’s trial at the Seoul Central District Court.
Prosecutors said Kim attacked the envoy following the North’s accusation that South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises are war rehearsals against the North, adding that books and other materials confiscated from Kim’s home support North Korea’s strategy to communize South Korea.
“Heavy punishment is inevitable as (Kim) clearly acted following North Korea’s accusation,” said the prosecutor
Kim denied the allegation that he had contact with the North before committing the crime, emphasizing that it was an accident.
North Korea has hailed Kim as a hero, comparing him to Ahn Joong-keun, a renowned anti-Japanese independence fighter revered in both Koreas. North Korea has disavowed its involvement in the attack.
The court will deliver a sentence on Sept. 11. (Yonhap)
