A 32-year-old man was sentenced to seven years behind bars Thursday for beating his girlfriend to death.

The man, surnamed Lee, was indicted on charges of battering his girlfriend, Hwang Ye-jin, to death in the lobby of a studio apartment building in western Seoul in late July during a fight between the two.

Repeatedly beaten on the head, Hwang lost consciousness and was moved to a hospital with symptoms of cerebral hemorrhage. She eventually died about 20 days later.

Appealing for leniency, Lee has admitted to all the violence charges and argued her death was not intentional.

Prosecutors had sought a 10-year term for Lee.

"The crime deprived the victim of her life at the young age of 26 and left unspeakable pain on the bereaved family," the Seoul Western District Court said.

Hwang's mother immediately protested the sentence as too light, and called on the prosecution to appeal the case. (Yonhap)