Elder Brother Who Abandoned Disabled Sibling with 3 Billion Inheritance Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison... Acquitted of Murder

1st Trial "Murder Admitted" 30 Years Imprisonment → 2nd Trial "No Evidence of Murder" 10 Years Imprisonment

The elder brother, who was tried on charges of murdering his intellectually disabled younger brother to monopolize an inheritance worth around 3 billion won, was not found guilty of murder. This was due to the lack of clear evidence proving the murder.

The Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Min Yu-sook) announced on the 5th that it upheld the lower court's ruling, which acquitted Lee (46, male) of murder charges for taking his younger brother outdoors and causing his death, but found him guilty of abandonment resulting in death and violation of the Narcotics Control Act, sentencing him to 10 years in prison.

Lee was indicted for luring his intellectually disabled younger brother, who was 38 years old and classified as level 2 intellectually disabled, to an outdoor location in Gyeonggi Province in June 2021, resulting in his death. After the incident, Lee reported his brother missing, claiming, "He left home riding a bicycle to go to the movie theater and did not return." However, during the police investigation, CCTV footage confirmed that the two were seen traveling together by car, leading to the discovery of the crime.

The prosecution viewed that Lee, after dividing the inheritance of 3.4 billion won from their parents, and facing a lawsuit for inheritance division and unjust enrichment return from the social welfare corporation acting as the guardian of his younger brother, decided to kill his brother and committed the crime. The first trial recognized Lee's murder charge and sentenced him to 30 years in prison. Lee claimed during the trial, "I did abandon my brother outdoors, but I did not kill him."

However, the second trial accepted Lee's claim. It judged that there was no direct evidence proving that Lee directly killed his brother. Nevertheless, it found him guilty of abandonment resulting in death, reasoning that he left his severely intellectually disabled brother outdoors, knowing that leaving him alone could put him in danger, and failed to take protective measures, which led to his brother's death, sentencing him to 10 years in prison. The Supreme Court also agreed with the second trial's judgment.