Two South Korean defendants are seen during their trial at the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court, where one was sentenced to life imprisonment and the other to a 20-year jail term on murder charges, September 4, 2026.
The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on Friday sentenced 31-year-old Kim Jin to life imprisonment and 30-year-old Kang Yo Han to a 20-year jail term on murder charges.
The two defendants were involved in a fatal fight that left restaurant owner Lee Seung Ho dead and manager Lee Suk Min seriously injured, with the latter suffering 87 percent bodily harm.
The court also ordered the two men to jointly pay VND5.2 billion (US$199,100) in compensation to Lee Seung Ho’s family and VND3.1 billion ($118,700) to Lee Suk Min.
According to the indictment, at around 12:40 am on December 28, 2024, a group of South Korean nationals, including Lee Chang Dae and Yu Seung Hoon, went to a restaurant on Tran Hung Dao Street in Ho Chi Minh City to eat and sing karaoke in room 302.
Yu then messaged Dang Thi Tuyet Nhung, a Vietnamese woman, and invited her to the restaurant to join the group.
Lee Chang Dae later went to the restroom, and when he returned to the karaoke room, he accidentally hit an LED screen, damaging it.
Restaurant employees asked the group to pay for the damage, triggering an argument and physical altercation between the two sides.
The restaurant manager then called local police to report the incident.
As some property had been damaged, restaurant owner Lee Seung Ho asked his employees to hold the phones and personal belongings of the guests.
Nhung, whose phone was not confiscated, then messaged Kim to tell him what had happened.
At the time, Kim and Kang were drinking alcohol nearby, so they quickly went to the restaurant.
When the two men arrived, they rushed into the karaoke room and joined the brawl between Lee Chang Dae’s group and the restaurant’s side.
A local police patrol team then arrived, pushed open the room door to check on the situation, and found the restaurant owner dead at the scene.
Meanwhile, manager Lee Suk Min suffered severe injuries and was taken to a hospital for emergency treatment.
A forensic examination later determined that the victim had suffered bodily harm equivalent to 87 percent.
Dining and Cooking