Prosecutors have demanded a life sentence for a man in his 40s with the last name Ji, who killed his two sons by driving a car into the sea after giving them sleeping pills, while escaping alone without calling for help.
On August 22, the 12th Criminal Division of the Gwangju District Court concluded the trial against Ji, who was indicted and detained on charges including murder. The prosecution requested a life sentence. Ji was accused of driving his car into the sea near Jindo Port, South Jeolla Province, at around 1:12 a.m. on June 1, killing his wife and two teenage sons who were inside the vehicle.
Investigators found that Ji, burdened with about ₩200 million KRW (about $143,000 USD) in credit card debt and suffering financial hardship, had decided to commit a family suicide with his wife. Believing his children would struggle without their parents, he resolved to kill them as well.
On the evening of May 31, during the second day of a family trip, Ji allegedly mixed sleeping pills into energy drinks and gave them to his sons. In the early hours of June 1, near Paengmok Port, he and his wife also consumed sleeping pills before Ji drove the car into the sea.
However, overcome with sudden fear, Ji escaped alone through the driver’s side window, leaving his wife and sons to drown. After reaching land, he left the scene without attempting rescue, later traveling to Gwangju using an acquaintance’s car, where he was eventually arrested. Ji submitted petitions for leniency from acquaintances to the court.
The prosecution criticized Ji severely.
“You claim you wanted to die at sea, yet you escaped alone. Even if you lacked the ability, shouldn’t you at least have called 119 to try to save your family? How can you be asking for leniency while you remain alive? The two sons were simply enjoying a family trip, looking for good restaurants and making happy memories. They drank the spiked drinks without suspicion and fell asleep. The sons were downstairs eating ramen, while the parents were upstairs preparing the spiked drinks. The boys could never have imagined their parents were planning to kill them.”
In his final statement, Ji apologized to his children.
