TOKYO - A retrial at the Tokyo High Court has resulted in an upheld guilty verdict for a former employee of the major publishing company Kodansha, who was accused of murdering his wife in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward. The court dismissed the appeal by the former employee, confirming the initial 11-year prison sentence.
Park Jung-hyun, the former Kodansha employee, was accused of strangling his wife, Kanako, to death at their home in Bunkyo Ward in 2016. Both the first and second trials resulted in a guilty verdict and an 11-year sentence.
Park's defense team appealed to the Supreme Court, which overturned the second trial's guilty verdict, citing insufficient examination of the case, and remanded the case back to the Tokyo High Court for further review.
In the retrial, the defense argued that there was significant evidence pointing to suicide, not murder, and sought an acquittal. However, in the ruling on July 18, the Tokyo High Court stated, "The manner of the alleged suicide at home is highly unusual," and concluded that the original verdict finding Park guilty of strangling his wife to death was reasonable and not based on factual error.
The court supported the initial 11-year prison sentence and dismissed Park's appeal. During the sentencing, Park protested, saying, "This would mean there is no justice in this country" and "Judge, I did not do it," leading to a warning from the judge.
Source: ANN
