A man who brandished a weapon at Kim Sang-wook (30), a mixed martial artist who appeared on the military entertainment program “Steel Corps,” has been sentenced to prison in a first trial.
On Aug. 8, the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Division 29 먹튀검증(Chief Judge Kim Seung-jung) sentenced A, 33, to three years in prison for attempted murder and other charges, according to legal sources.
He was accused of attempting to kill his coach, Kim, by swinging a weapon at him several times in April 2022 at a kickboxing gym in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
Mr. Kim claimed that he had been harassed and disrespected by Mr. Kim while learning the sport.
He is also accused of assaulting a police officer in a police station holding cell and pouring hot water on a detainee in a detention center.
In court, Mr. Lee claimed that he did not intend to kill Ms. Kim, but the court found that he did, based on the weapon he had prepared in advance and the location of the wounds.
“If Mr. Kim had not been able to defend himself in a timely manner, it could have resulted in the loss of his life,” the court said, adding that “severe punishment is inevitable.”
However, the court considered that Mr. A had been treated for mental illness and that he committed the crime in a state of mental and physical weakness, as evidenced by the results of a doctor’s examination at the National Legal Hospital.
“There is a risk of recidivism if he does not receive proper treatment,” the court said, and ordered him to be placed under medical supervision.