The former deputy editor of a popular Kodansha Ltd. comic magazine was sentenced Wednesday to 11 years in prison for killing his wife in 2016.
The Tokyo District Court ruled that Pak Jong Hyon, 43, strangled his wife to death in a bedroom of their Tokyo home. Pak had claimed she took her own life.
In handing down the ruling, presiding Judge Minoru Morishita said Pak's act was "malicious." But his motive for killing her remains unclear.
After the sentence was read out, Pak shouted, "I didn't do it," and the judge told him to sit down.
Prosecutors had sought a 15-year prison term, claiming Pak clearly intended to kill her.
According to the ruling, the former deputy editor of the publisher's Morning magazine strangled his wife Kanako, 38, on Aug. 9, 2016.
"We take the ruling seriously. As the employee suggested he will appeal, we will continue to handle the matter cautiously while" keeping an eye on future developments, Kodansha said in a statement.