Top court confirms 20-year sentence for ‘spin kick’ assailant

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 20-year prison sentence for the so-called spin kick assailant in the southeastern port city of Busan, who caused social outrage last year due to his brutal attack on a female stranger for the purpose of rape.

The defendant, whose identity has been withheld, is accused of following the victim, to whom he had no personal connection, for 10 minutes all the way to her apartment’s elevator on May 22, 2022, knocking her out with a roundhouse kick to the back of the head and then continually assaulting her until she passed out.

He was given a 12-year prison term on charges of attempted murder by a district court in October last year, but the Busan High Court raised the sentence to 20 years in June after prosecutors changed his charge to attempted rape and murder after detecting his DNA in her jeans.

The top court also approved the appellate court’s order that the defendant wear a location tracking device for 20 years and his personal information be disclosed in public communications networks for 10 years.