Seoul prosecutors sought a 20-year jail term Friday for a Korean-American charged with murdering a South Korean college student nearly two decades ago, known as the Itaewon murder case. 

Arthur John Patterson, a 35-year-old U.S. citizen, was extradited to Korea on Sept. 23 to face a new trial on charges of murdering Cho Choong-pil, who was stabbed to death in 1997 at Burger King restaurant in Itaewon, a multicultural district frequented by expats in Seoul.

At the crime scene, there were only two other people apart from the victim ― Cho, Patterson and a Korean-American Edward Lee.

Lee was initially indicted on a murder charge in 1997 and sentenced to a 20-year-jail term, but later was cleared of the charge for lack of evidence.

The sentencing is scheduled for later this month.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)