Man found guilty of South Korean man Min Tae Kim's murder

A man has been sentenced to life for the murder of South Korean national, Min Tae Kim, whose body was found buried in a shallow grave in a backyard in Brisbane in 2013.

Sanghyun Hwang, 31, pleaded not guilty to the murder of Min Tae Kim but guilty to interference with a corpse on the first day of his trial last Monday.

A Brisbane Supreme Court jury retired shortly after 11am on Thursday, having heard allegations Hwang killed the man after they organised a currency exchange online.

Hwang was found guilty by the jury and sentenced to life for murder and 18 months for interfering with Min Tae Kim's body.

Members of Mr Kim's family wept in the public gallery after jurors returned at about 3pm to convict Hwang of the 28-year-old man's murder.

His victim's body was found buried in the backyard of an Algester property in December 2013.

In his opening address, Crown prosecutor Todd Fuller said Mr Kim had been making plans to return to Korea and had made money by selling his car.

His body was later found naked, with his hands behind his back and a cord around his neck.

"He said his intention was just to threaten Mr Kim and steal his money," Mr Fuller said, telling the jury he was killed for between $10,000 and $12,000.

Giving evidence at the trial, Hwang said he'd attacked Mr Kim from behind after the man realised he was "playing him" and became angry.

"I thought he was going to hit me so I went behind and grabbed him," Hwang said through an interpreter.

Mr Kim's brother sobbed in court on Thursday afternoon as he read a statement in Korean, describing the murder as "selfish, despicable".