(123rf)

A 26-year-old man is being tried for the murder of his girlfriend, in another case drawing attention to the issue of dating violence in South Korea.

The suspect surnamed Kim is believed to have killed a 27-year-old woman surnamed Im, his girlfriend of two weeks, by stabbing her in the heart at his home in August.

Kim, who turned himself in by calling the 119 emergency line, claims self defense. He told police that Im had attacked him with a knife, and unintentionally stabbed herself in the chest in the process.

But the officials have pressed murder charge against Kim, based partly the suspect's inconsistent testimonies and the autopsy report that showed the victim's heart was completely penetrated by the knife. Police believe that the alleged murder was sparked by an argument between the suspect and the victim, which took place shortly before the stabbing and had been about Im’s phone conversation with another man.

A forensic analysis of the victim's phone also showed that the victim told the suspect she wanted to break up with him.

In an interview with local media, the victim's family said the suspect changed his claims concerning the woman's death.

"He first said he didn't know, then he said she was stabbed, and then he said she did it to herself. The answers were all different, which was baffling," the victim's twin brother was quoted as saying.

The brother said that the siblings used to talk frequently about the future, and said that there was no way his sister was responsible for her own death.

Government data has indicated that dating violence in the country has been on an upward trend for years. A total of 77,150 cases were reported to the authorities in 2023, according to the National Police Agency, a figure which increased every year since 8,951 in 2020.