Today, the court has handed down its sentence to Jung-hyun Park, a former deputy editor at Kodansha. It was nearly a decade ago that Park was charged for murdering his wife, but the COVID-19 pandemic and a retrial put the process on delay. Now, Park has been found guilty, and the former editor has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.
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For those unaware of the legal case, Park (48) was charged for murdering his wife by strangling her at their home in Tokyo. Park told authorities shortly after his wife’s death that she committed suicide by hanging, but that claim was disputed by investigators.
Eight years ago, Park was formally charged with the murder of his wife, but the first trial regarding the case ended with a retrial. The judge overseeing the first trial felt more evidence was needed to secure a conviction either way. In this latest trial, the case suggested Park threatened his wife with a kitchen knife in their bedroom before strangling her.
In court, Park firmly said he’d done nothing wrong even in light of his sentencing. This sentiment was echoed by Park’s family shortly after the judgement was handed down. However, former judge Yaushi Handa told NHK that the prosecution in this case had medically sound evidence that disproved claims the wife committed suicide.
“I found there couldn’t be truth to the suicide claim made by the defense team due to medically grounded, reliable evidence. The prosecution’s evidence was very strong. It would have been difficult to overturn the defense’s claim of suicide if it hadn’t been grounded.”
Over the past decade, Park has found himself ensnared in legal trouble, but his career before this case saw him at Kodansha. The former deputy editor oversaw a number of hits at the publisher including The Seven Deadly Sins and GTO.
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