Man sentenced to life in prison for murdering high school student in Gwangju

Published Sep 30, 2026 5:25 pm KST

Murder suspect Jang Yoon-gi, right, arrives at the Gwangju District Court in southwestern South Korea, Wednesday, to attend his sentencing hearing. Yonhap

GWANGJU — A court on Wednesday sentenced a 23-year-old man to life in prison for murdering a female high school student in the southwestern city in May.

The Gwangju District Court handed down the sentence to Jang Yoon-gi after finding him guilty of rape-murder and other charges. The court also ordered Jang to wear an electronic tracking device and banned him from working at institutions serving children, adolescents and the disabled for 10 years from his release, if he is ever released.

Jang was charged with killing 16-year-old Lee Chae-won on a street in Gwangju, 270 kilometers southwest of Seoul, on May 5 after his attempt to kidnap her with intent to rape failed.

Jang was also charged with attempting to kill a 17-year-old male student who had rushed to the scene to help the victim, raping a Vietnamese woman two days earlier and illegally filming a teenage girl's body in the past. Prosecutors had demanded the death penalty for Jang.

The court said the defendant was guilty of all charges and the prosecution's argument that he must be permanently isolated from society was reasonable.

发布于2026年9月30日下午5:25（韩国标准时间）

周三，涉嫌谋杀的张允基（右）抵达韩国西南部光州地方法院，出席量刑听证会。（韩联社）

光州——周三，法院判处一名23岁男子终身监禁，罪名是今年5月在西南城市光州谋杀了一名女高中生。

光州地方法院认定张允基犯有强奸杀人罪及其他罪行，并对其判处刑罚。法院还责令张允基佩戴电子监控设备，并禁止其在获释后十年内（如获释）在服务儿童、青少年和残疾人的机构工作。

张某被控于 5 月 5 日在首尔西南 270 公里的光州街头杀害了 16 岁的李彩媛，此前他试图绑架并强奸她未遂。

张某还被控企图谋杀一名赶到现场救助受害者的17岁男学生，两天前强奸一名越南女子，以及过去曾非法拍摄一名少女的尸体。检方要求判处张某死刑。

法庭表示，被告所有指控罪名成立，检方提出的必须将其永久与社会隔离的论点是合理的。