12-Year Sentence Confirmed for Attacker of U.S. Ambassador

The Supreme Court confirmed the 12-year jail sentence for Kim Ki-jong, who attacked U.S. Ambassador Mark Lippert with a knife last year.

In a ruling, the Supreme Court stated, "Kim clearly intended to murder Ambassador Lippert, given the size of the weapon, the way he repeatedly stabbed the envoy's face and neck, the part of the face he attacked and the injuries he inflicted."

The Supreme Court, however, found Kim not guilty of violating the National Security Law by praising North Korea.

Kim attacked Lippert with a 24 cm-long knife at a forum at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul on Mar. 5 last year while shouting "Stop joint South Korea-U.S. military drills."

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