South Korean Supreme Court finalizes 35-year sentence for taxi driver murder

South Korea's Supreme Court has finalized a 35-year prison sentence for a 22-year-old man convicted of murdering a taxi driver and attempting to kill witnesses. The incident occurred in June last year near the National Assembly Station in Seoul while the victim was driving toward Hwaseong.

The defendant killed the 60-year-old driver with a weapon after an argument arose when the driver became lost and requested to end the trip. Following the murder, the defendant used the taxi to strike two bystanders who were attempting to report the incident to the police, resulting in charges of attempted murder and theft.

While the defendant claimed diminished mental capacity due to delusional disorder and schizophrenia, the courts rejected this argument, stating his condition did not impair his ability to distinguish right from wrong at the time of the crime. In addition to the prison term, the court upheld a 20-year order for the defendant to wear an electronic tracking device.