Death sentence sought for rapist of 7-year-old

Prosecutors in Gwangju are seeking the death penalty for a man indicted for kidnapping and raping an elementary schoolgirl last summer.

The request was filed Thursday by the Gwangju District Prosecutor’s Office asking a local court to impose the death sentence on Koh Jong-seok, 24, on charges of kidnapping and raping the seven-year-old and attempting to kill her afterward in Naju, South Jeolla Province, last August.

“The girl has had two major surgical procedures due to injuries she suffered at Koh’s hands and has to undergo one more,” a prosecutor said.

“Besides the physical damage, she is suffering from considerable mental trauma, saying she wants to return to the time when she was one year old, before the attack happened. I ask the court to take into consideration the trauma she continues to suffer,” she said.

During the hearing, the girl’s mother read a letter from the victim to the judge. It stated: “You should give a hard time to the man who tried to kill me. I fear he may come to my home and take me again.”

The mother also said, “A new semester will begin soon but my daughter refuses to go to school. She says she wants to go back to my belly (womb), saying the memory of the attacker strangling her sometimes flashes across her mind.”

Koh has admitted to the crimes and apologized to the victim and her family, according to investigators.

On Aug. 30 when Typhoon Tembin hit the country, Koh allegedly kidnapped the girl who was sleeping in her home at around 1:30 a.m. by wrapping her in a blanket.

He raped her under a nearby bridge and attempted to strangle her. Thinking she was dead, Koh left the scene, and the girl was found by police 11 hours later. She now feels afraid when it rains, the prosecutor said.

The court will make its ruling on Jan. 31. <The Korea Times/Kim Rahn>