▲ Kim Dong-hwan, accused of murdering an airline captain
Kim Dong-hwan, who was indicted on charges of murdering a fellow airline captain and attempting further crimes, has withdrawn his previous request for a jury trial (known in Korea as a citizen participation trial).
The Busan District Court's 7th Criminal Division held the second preparatory hearing for Kim, who is currently in custody on charges including murder, today (June 16).
After confirming that the defense counsel’s submitted opinion included a withdrawal of the request for a jury trial, the court asked Kim if he intended to withdraw the request, to which he replied in the affirmative.
Previously, Kim had expressed his intention to undergo a jury trial on several occasions.
While Kim’s side admitted to all the facts of the indictment presented by the prosecution, they did not agree to some of the evidence.
Kim has filed a request for fact-finding inquiries with the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency.
Given an opportunity to speak, Kim claimed, "As soon as the incident was reported in the media, fellow captains requested police protection," adding, "If they had done nothing wrong and did not know the reason, why would they have requested protection? This will serve as circumstantial evidence that they wronged me and knew I would come looking for them."
The court stated that it would review whether this could be considered a factor in sentencing before deciding whether to accept the request.
Kim is accused of stabbing and killing a fellow airline captain, identified as A, with a weapon at an apartment in Busanjin-gu, Busan, around 5:30 a.m. on March 17.
He is also charged with the attempted murder of another captain, whom he allegedly tried to strangle in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on March 16, the day before the murder.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.