Crime & Safety

Update: Redmond Man Pleads Not Guilty in Bellevue Murder

Sung Ho Kim, 43, is accused of shooting and killing a man he believed was having an affair with his wife.

Sung Ho Kim, 43, the Redmond man prosecutors say pleaded not guilty at an arraignment Friday morning, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

Kim is accused of shooting Jin Kim—an employee of his wife and of no relation to the couple—at a Belle Arts apartment building in downtown Bellevue on Nov. 15. Kim pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder and remains jailed with bail set at $2 million, according to the Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

A case setting hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Dec. 14 at the King County Courthouse, courtroom 1201.

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The defendant's wife told investigators that she and Jin Kim were at the unit at the Belle Arts, where her business is run, when her husband came to the apartment to talk to them.

She told investigators that she and Jin Kim were in an affair that was "emotional, not physical," according to court documents.

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According to court documents, Sung Ho Kim told investigators that he came to the apartment the morning of Nov. 15 because was so upset by his wife's affair that he couldn't go to work at his job at .

According to Sung Ho Kim's account in court documents, Jin Kim told Sung Ho Kim that he would leave their family alone for $500,000, at which point the defendant became so upset he pulled out his 9mm Glock and shot the other man.

Sung Ho Kim told investigators he only meant to threaten the other man and did not come to the apartment to shoot anyone.

According to the defendant's wife, Sung Ho Kim yelled, "My life is over" after the shooting, and lamented that he would never see the couple's 8-year-old son again.

Sung Ho Kim threw the gun out the window after the shooting and told his wife to call police, court documents state. Medical personnel pronounced Jin Kim dead at the scene, Bellevue Police said.


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