'Husband Secretly Records Wife Suspected of Infidelity... What Is the Court's Ruling?'

The court showed leniency toward a husband who secretly recorded conversations between his wife, suspected of cheating, and another person. The photo is unrelated to the article content. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The court showed leniency by suspending the prison sentence for a husband who recorded conversations between his wife, suspected of infidelity, and another person.

On the 9th, according to the court, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 24 (Presiding Judge Jo Yongrae) gave a suspended sentence of 6 months imprisonment and a 1-year disqualification to Mr. A (42, male), who was indicted for violating the Protection of Communications Secrets Act. A suspended sentence means that for defendants with minor offenses, the court postpones the sentencing for a certain period, and if no specific incidents occur during that time, the sentence is waived.

Earlier, Mr. A was brought to trial on charges of placing a pre-purchased voice recorder in his wife B’s bag and activating it at their home in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on June 1, 2019, to confirm B’s infidelity, thereby recording conversations between B and Mr. C.

The recorded files contained conversations such as "It feels like my paycheck envelope was pickpocketed," and "Ah, I should have just transferred it. I wanted to give it like a gift, so I deliberately went to the bank to withdraw it," according to the investigation.

Article 16, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 1 of the current Protection of Communications Secrets Act stipulates that "anyone who, without following the provisions of the Protection of Communications Secrets Act, Criminal Procedure Act, Military Court Act, etc., intercepts mail or telecommunications, or records or listens to conversations between others that are not publicly disclosed, shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year and not more than ten years, and disqualification for up to five years."

Mr. A admitted his offense in court. He said, "I have clearly recognized the illegality of recording conversations between others," and "I will never commit the same offense again."

The court pointed out, "The offense is not light as it causes a serious invasion of privacy," and "Ms. B wants the defendant to be punished." However, the court also stated, "However, the offense was committed to confirm suspected infidelity of the spouse and was a one-time act," and "there are some circumstances that can be taken into consideration regarding the motive and circumstances."

Since neither Mr. A nor the prosecutor appealed, this ruling became final as is.