Crypto CEO Appeals 25-year Prison Term for Pushing Girlfriend out of 19th-floor Window

A 33-year-old South Korean crypto company chief has appealed a 25-year prison sentence after allegedly pushing his live-in girlfriend to her death from a 19th-storey window.

Per Asia Today and Newsis (via Fn News), the man, referred to for legal reasons by his surname Kim, was the CEO of an unnamed crypto investment firm and had begun cohabiting with his girlfriend in February 2021. The duo began dating in August 2020, the court heard.

The woman, who was not named (also for legal reasons), was identified as being in her twenties. The duo lived at the CEO’s apartment in the Seocho District of Seoul, the center of gravity of the nation’s crypto industry.

The court heard that the incident took place in mid-November last year, after Kim had bought and taken narcotics, including “ketamine and marijuana.”

On the day in question, the court was told, the woman told Kim that she wanted to break up with him. Kim allegedly responded by drawing a knife and threatening to kill her. Eventually, the duo appear to have clashed and Kim, the court heard, then pushed the woman from the veranda.
Kim submitted an appeal to the 22nd Criminal Settlement Division of the Seoul Central District Court, hoping to overturn the verdict.

But at a ruling held the day prior, the sentencing judge stated that the victim’s suffering prior to her death must have been “so severe that it would be difficult to estimate” – and then sentenced Kim to 25 years behind bars. Kim, who was also described as an active “crypto trader,” was also fined over USD 2,300.

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