Daughter demands father’s execution for mother’s murder

A woman who identified herself as the daughter of a murder suspect filed an online petition with the presidential office Wednesday, demanding that her father be executed for the alleged murder of her mother. About 60,000 South Koreans have signed the petition as of Wednesday afternoon.

Police on Wednesday requested an arrest warrant for the 49-year-old suspect, surnamed Kim, for the alleged murder of his 47-year-old ex-wife, surnamed Lee. Lee’s body was found Monday morning in the parking lot of an apartment complex in western Seoul.

The victim was stabbed, police said. A police review of CCTV footage led to the capture of the suspect, who they said confessed to the murder. He said he had developed “negative feelings” toward the victim when they went through a divorce some four years earlier.

The petitioner said her father had physically and verbally abused her and her mother before the divorce. She also said the suspect had sent death threats, both to her and her mother, after the divorce was finalized.

“My mother could not live with my father as she was constantly exposed to horrific abuse,” the woman wrote in the petition.

“Even after the divorce, she could not pursue a normal life as my father constantly sent her death threats. She moved five times after the divorce, including to a shelter, but he always managed to find her and threaten her again.”

Police briefly mentioned that the suspect appeared drunk in the CCTV footage. Many criminals in the past have received mitigated sentences due to “impaired judgment” resulting from mental illness or drunkenness, sparking public outrage.

“My father’s judgment has never been ‘impaired.’ He is a criminal who needs to be separated from society for good,” the woman said. “I hope by doing this (executing him), there won’t be any other victims.”

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)