Supreme Court confirms life sentence for teacher over student's murder

▲ This undated file photo provided by the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency shows Myeong Jae-wan, a teacher convicted of murdering a student inside a classroom. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

court-student murder

Supreme Court confirms life sentence for teacher over student's murder

SEOUL, April 2 (Yonhap) -- The Supreme Court on Thursday confirmed a life sentence for a teacher convicted of killing a 7-year-old student at their school in the central city of Daejeon last year.

The court handed down the ruling to Myeong Jae-wan, 49, who was found guilty of luring the student, Kim Ha-neul, to a classroom on Feb. 10 last year and stabbing her with a weapon she had prepared in advance.

The teacher was also convicted of kicking and damaging a school computer and assaulting another teacher several days before the murder.

During the trial, Myeong admitted to the crime but claimed she was in a mentally impaired state. The prosecution sought the death penalty.

Both the district and appellate courts sentenced her to life in prison and ordered her to wear an electronic tracking device for 30 years.

The Supreme Court also confirmed that order.

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