Choi Yun-jong, 30, brutally attacked a total stranger, attempting to rape and severely beating her on a hiking trail in southern Seoul in August of last year.
The victim, an elementary school teacher was taken to a hospital but died two days later.
Prosecutors had sought the death penalty in both the first and second trials, but the courts sentenced Choi to life imprisonment. He was also ordered to wear an electronic tracking device for 30 years.
Korea has effectively abolished the death penalty, having carried out no executions since 1997.
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