A man in his 20s who stabbed his upstairs neighbor to death in an apartment elevator after years of disputes over floor noise was sentenced to 25 years in prison, longer than the 20 years sought by prosecutors.
The Daegu District Court's 11th criminal division, presided over by Chief Judge Lee Young-chul, handed down the sentence to the 28-year-old defendant on murder charges in a jury trial, the legal community said on the 22nd. The court said it took into account the jury's sentencing opinions. Five of the seven jurors recommended 30 years, while the remaining two favored 25 years.
The defendant is accused of stabbing the victim, a man in his 50s who lived on the floor above, dozens of times in an elevator at an apartment complex in Pyeongri-dong, Seo-gu, Daegu, on May 9.
Investigators said the defendant had been in conflict with the victim's family over floor noise for years after moving into the complex in 2023. He claimed he had spent 12.7 million won on a soundproof booth in his room to block the noise, and said he wore headphones at home but still felt noise and vibration.
The dispute escalated to the point that police were called. Last year the two sides argued over floor noise through the building's intercom, and officers who responded to the report mediated between them, according to the investigation.
Woke From Sleep, Took a Knife and Attacked in Elevator
On the day of the killing, the defendant was sleeping at home when noise woke him. Suspecting it came from the victim's family, he took a knife and left his apartment. He then stopped the descending elevator and attacked the victim immediately upon encountering him inside.
Closed-circuit television footage captured the defendant striking the victim dozens of times. He told investigators he believed the family was making noise deliberately to harass him.
The victim's family rejected that account, saying they had never made noise intentionally. The victim's daughter told the court the family had taken great care, wearing slippers at home and installing noise-reduction mats, and said they had never deliberately made noise to harass anyone. She called for a severe punishment.
The two-day jury trial focused on what had actually caused the noise and on the defendant's mental state.
Defense lawyers played video in court that they said documented the noise, arguing it showed the defendant had suffered prolonged mental distress because of the victim's family.
The court, however, noted that the complex had problems with pipe noise, to the point that a notice about it had been posted in the elevator. "It is difficult to conclude that all of the floor noise claimed by the defendant was caused by the victim," the court said.
The defense also argued that the defendant had suffered from mental health problems, but a psychiatric evaluation conducted by a specialist found no abnormalities.
Prosecutors sought 20 years, citing the premeditated and brutal nature of the crime. The jury recommended 25 to 30 years, noting that the defendant had shifted blame for the killing onto the victim's family and had shown no genuine remorse.
"The defendant himself was not certain whether the noise was caused by the victim's family," the court said in explaining the sentence. "Stabbing the neck, lungs and other organs dozens of times and showing no remorse are aggravating factors."