Prosecutors again seek death penalty in appeal for Daejeon teacher convicted of killing first-grade student

Prosecutors have once again sought the death penalty in the appeal trial of a teacher who was sentenced to life imprisonment in the first trial for murdering a first-grade student at an elementary school in Daejeon.

On December 17, during the appellate sentencing hearing held by the First Criminal Division of the Daejeon High Court (Presiding Judge Park Jin Hwan), prosecutors requested that the court overturn the original ruling and sentence the defendant, Myung Jae Wan (age 48), to death. Myung is charged with violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, including kidnapping for profit and related offenses.

Myung is accused of luring an eight-year-old student, Kim Ha Neul, to an audiovisual room at the elementary school where she worked on February 10 at around 5 PM. After the child finished an after-school care program and was on her way home, she allegedly told her she would give her a book, then fatally stabbed her with a weapon she had prepared in advance.

In the first trial, the court described the case as an unprecedented crime, noting that a practicing elementary school teacher brutally murdered a student who was only seven years old at the time. Citing the immense shock and anger felt nationwide, the court sentenced Myung to life imprisonment and rejected the defense’s claim that she was mentally incapacitated at the time of the crime. Prosecutors, who had initially sought the death penalty, argued that the sentence was too lenient, while the defense maintained that Myung acted under diminished mental capacity. Both sides filed appeals.

During the second trial, prosecutors again challenged the defense’s argument for sentence reduction based on mental incapacity, asserting that the court-ordered psychiatric evaluation recognizing diminished capacity may have been distorted by the defendant’s intent. Prosecutors stressed that expert assessments do not bind the court’s judgment and expressed confidence that the judges would reach an independent conclusion. To rebut the psychiatric findings that favored the defense, prosecutors submitted additional evidence, including written opinions from forensic medicine experts and other specialists.

Prosecutors also argued that Myung was not mentally incapacitated, pointing out that she clearly remembered the circumstances before and after the crime. In response, Myung stated in court, “I have no memory at all of stabbing the child, and I cannot understand that I committed such a brutal murder. I was able to speak in detail about events before the crime because I remember that part.”

Meanwhile, Myung’s privately retained defense attorney abruptly resigned on December 7, ahead of the first appellate hearing. As a result, the initial appeal trial held on December 10 concluded after only confirming Myung’s personal details, as the newly appointed court-assigned attorney had not yet reviewed the case records. When the presiding judge asked why his lawyer had suddenly withdrawn, Myung replied, “I don’t know. I was only told it was for personal reasons.”

However, the former defense attorney, identified as Attorney A, later posted on social media that he had stepped down from Myung’s appeal case, which he had handled since the first trial, before joining the Democratic Party of Korea. He added that he also resigned from his position as a legal adviser for Daejeon Seo-gu Gap, saying it was an act of reflection for failing to fully grasp public outrage and for his conduct as a legal professional.

Attorney A further wrote, “I took the case based on the principle I was trained in as a lawyer—that even a death-row inmate has the right to legal representation—but it seems my understanding fell far short of that of the public.” He concluded by saying he would pray for Ha Neul, who lost her life in the horrific incident, for her grieving parents, and for the defendant’s soul as well.