SEOUL (ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES) – A 47-year-old woman was exonerated of patricide charges on Monday in a retrial, nearly 25 years after being sentenced to life in prison for the murder of her father—a crime the court now says she did not commit.
The Haenam branch of the Gwangju District Court ruled Kim Shin-hye not guilty of murdering her father and disposing of his body in 2000, citing insufficient evidence and an unclear motive. The court highlighted that Kim’s initial confession, which had been the cornerstone of her 2001 conviction, could not be used as evidence since she had later retracted it.
Kim testified that her confession during the police investigation was false, made to protect her brother, whom she believed would be imprisoned without her intervention. Despite retracting the statement, Kim was convicted and sentenced to life in prison by the Supreme Court in 2001. She had been incarcerated since the investigation began in 2000.
Flawed investigation and questionable evidence
The court’s ruling pointed to serious flaws in the original investigation. It noted that there was no evidence supporting the claim that Kim’s father had been killed by a large dose of sleeping pills allegedly administered by Kim. An autopsy revealed no traces of drugs, and investigators failed to find the drink or pills supposedly used in the crime. Instead, the victim’s high blood alcohol content of 0.303 per cent was suggested as a possible cause of death.
The initial case also relied heavily on circumstantial evidence, including multiple life insurance policies in the victim’s name, three of which had been canceled at the time of his death. However, the court stated that this alone was insufficient to support a conviction.
Allegations of coercion and rights violations
Kim accused police of conducting an unlawful search of her home and coercing her into confessing. She also alleged that a relative pressured her into fabricating claims of sexual abuse by her father, believing it would result in a reduced sentence.
The court acknowledged inconsistencies in Kim’s statements and allegations of her urging her siblings to provide false testimony but emphasised that these factors were not enough to prove her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
“It is possible that Kim falsely confessed (to the murder) for various reasons,” the court said, ruling in her favor.
Kim’s retrial comes amid growing scrutiny of irregularities in past investigations in South Korea. Her case highlights the dangers of relying on coerced confessions and circumstantial evidence in criminal prosecutions.
