It has been confirmed that Kim Sung-jin, who killed a woman in her 60s during a stabbing spree at a supermarket in Gangbuk-gu, Seoul, in April of last year, broke a glass window while in detention to harm himself.
In February, Judge Cho A-ram of the 7th Criminal Division of the Seoul Eastern District Court sentenced Kim to a fine of 5 million won for damaging public property.
Kim was charged with removing a tempered glass window attached to the side of the cell door at the Seoul Eastern Detention Center on June 7 of last year, shortly after his admission, and smashing it against a washbasin with the intent to self-harm.
The court stated, "We have comprehensively considered the impact on the order of the detention center and other inmates, as well as the defendant's history of similar offenses."
In April of last year, at a supermarket in Mia-dong, Seoul, Kim wielded a weapon at two women he did not know, killing a woman in her 60s and attempting to kill another woman in her 40s.
At the time of the crime, after attacking the victim, he calmly looked at a camera, made a hand gesture associated with the far-right online community 'Ilbe', and drank soju.
Regarding this, Kim stated that he made the gesture as a final farewell to the Ilbe community, anticipating that CCTV footage of the crime would be released as evidence.
The first-instance court sentenced Kim to life imprisonment and ordered him to wear an electronic tracking device for 30 years.
The prosecution, which had demanded the death penalty, appealed on grounds including unfair sentencing, but the appellate court upheld the original ruling.
Reported by Kim Jiuk | Video by Jang Yu-jin | Graphics by Yang Hye-min | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
Kim Sung-jin, Who Made 'Ilbe' Gesture After Murder, Causes Another Incident in Detention Center
By NDS_연동 | May 11, 2026
