The news of that day has passed, but its meaning remains with us today. "That Day, Today" reads the present through the records of the past.
On this day one year ago, Oct. 1, 2025, a 25-year prison term was finalized for a Chinese man in his 70s who killed a street cleaner in an underground passage near Sungnyemun Gate in Seoul. The Supreme Court's Second Division, presided over by Justice Oh Kyung-mi, said it had upheld the lower court's ruling against a man surnamed Li, who was indicted on charges including murder. He was also ordered to wear an electronic ankle monitor for 20 years.
Li was put on trial on charges of stabbing a female street cleaner in her 60s, identified as A, multiple times with a knife around 4 a.m. on Aug. 2, 2024, in an underground passage near Sungnyemun Gate, killing her.
An ethnic Korean from China who killed the cleaner who had helped him
Li, an ethnic Korean holding Chinese nationality, first entered South Korea in 1996 on an H2 working visit visa and later stayed on an F4 overseas Korean visa from 2013. His residency status expired in 2022, leaving him in the country illegally. He was found to have lived in an inn near a district of single-room dwellings in Seoul's Yongsan district while also spending time on the streets.
Li and the victim had once been in a relationship. In 2023, A came to know Li while handing out about 5,000 won each for meals to homeless people in an underground passage in Jung district, and the two began dating. The relationship soured after A told Li around May 2024 that she could no longer continue the relationship unless he found a job.
About three months later, on the day of the killing, Li asked A for water to take medicine, but she refused, according to the court. Convinced that he had been slighted, Li stabbed her repeatedly with a knife he was carrying, killing her.
During the trial, Li's side argued that he had no intent to kill and that the death occurred as he tried only to frighten her, but the court rejected the claim. In February last year, the first trial court sentenced Li to 25 years in prison and ordered him to wear an electronic tracking device for 20 years. The court said at the time that "considering the motive and the cruelty of the crime, the offense is extremely grave," adding that it set the sentence taking into account the victim's family's plea for severe punishment, Li's age, his conduct and the circumstances of the trial.
The appellate court and the Supreme Court also upheld the sentence, saying that "looking at the motive, the means and the result of the crime, and the circumstances afterward, it cannot be said that a 25-year prison term was unjust."
Arrests of foreign suspects have been rising in recent years. According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to Rep. Jin Jong-oh of the People Power Party, total arrests of foreign suspects rose 8.7% over three years, from 32,470 in 2021 to 35,296 in 2024. That works out to nearly 100 foreign suspects arrested each day nationwide.
By nationality, Chinese nationals accounted for about half at 16,099. They were followed by Vietnamese (3,922), Thai (2,204) and Uzbek (1,962) nationals.
