South Korea: Mental Problems shouldn't be a reason to let criminals get away with light sentence

  • par: Timothy J
  • destinataire: Presidential Blue House, South Korea

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Recently, a murder incident shocked South Korea.
A part-time worker in an internet cafe has been brutally murdered by a 29-year-old man.
Due to public outrage and outcry, a criminal's identity and face were revealed to the public. 

The criminal is Kim Seong-su, 29, as I posted his face above. According to the blog post of the doctor who tried to save the victim, Mr.Kim stabbed the victim in the face over 30 times. 

The victim, surnamed Shin, worked hard to earn money and dreamed to be a fashion model. However, he was murdered by Mr.Kim, and his dreams were cruelly crushed. 

Warning: The images in this link may be graphic and disturbing. 

Scene of the incident

I'm extremely concerned that Mr.Kim might get away with a light sentence since he told police that he had been suffering from depression for 10 years and was on medication, according to police. If the court accepts that he is 'mentally unstable', Mr.Kim can get a lighter sentence for his crime. 

For too long in my country, many criminals who committed brutal crimes claimed that they are mentally unstable when they committed the crime and have had their punishment reduced.

In 2008, Cho Doo-soon, who raped an eight-year-old girl ― permanently damaging her internal organs ― had his term reduced to 12 years from 15 years, because he was drunk at that time, which severely impaired his judgment. His face was never revealed in public, and he will be released from the jail on Dec. 13, 2020. This is not fair for the victim, and the public is already scared and terrified. 

A petitioner in my country stated: "To what extent should we tolerate lenient punishment just because the suspect has depression, a mental disorder, or is mentally unstable? If someone has bad intentions, they can be prescribed depression medicine and then commit a crime, knowing the punishment would be lessened using the mentally unstable argument."

The whole public in South Korea is in a fear and terror. People are getting scared that one day, someone could murder them, and blame their mental problems to get away with a light sentence. 

Mental Problems shouldn't be a license to kill someone innocent. If we don't act, someone could be murdered again, and the criminal can get away with a light sentence by blaming their mental problem. 

Video of Mr.Kim, a criminal

Mr.Kim said he is so sorry about the incident, but saying sorry after brutally killing someone, who dreamed to be an aspiring fashion model, won't solve anything. 

Mr.Kim must be punished to the full extent of the law for his unforgivable crime. In addition, government and the court must stop forgiving every criminal, who ruined the lives of the victims, just because they say "I have a mental problem. I have a mental illness." 

Sign now so the victim's family can get a proper justice they must have, and the whole community doesn't have to live in the fear and terror.  

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