The former deputy director of the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, Mr. A, who was charged with causing the death of his mistress due to a brain hemorrhage by failing to provide appropriate first aid at his home, was sentenced to 8 years in prison, and the guilty verdict was finalized.
The Supreme Court's First Division (Presiding Justice Oh Kyung-mi) on the 29th upheld the original sentence of 8 years imprisonment for Mr. A, who was tried on charges of murder.
Mr. A was charged with leaving his mistress and employee, Ms. B, who lost consciousness at his residence in an apartment in Sejong City around 11:20 p.m. on August 16, 2019, unattended for over 4 hours in a vehicle after bringing her outside 3 hours later. Although Mr. A eventually took Ms. B to the hospital emergency room, she was already deceased. It is known that Ms. B could have survived if Mr. A had called 119 immediately when she first collapsed, as she was still breathing on her own at that time. The distance from Mr. A’s residence to the nearby 119 safety center was only 1.4 km (a 5 to 10-minute drive).
It was also revealed that Mr. A tried to disguise the situation as if he had accidentally discovered the employee collapsed in the office. Although cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed, it was already past the time when rigor mortis had set in. Mr. A was seen crying at the hospital as if he had not anticipated the death.
The first trial acquitted Mr. A, citing insufficient evidence to establish a causal relationship between his failure to provide aid and Ms. B’s death. However, the second trial overturned the first court’s decision, stating, "The victim could have survived if 119 had been called and she had been taken to the emergency room when she lost consciousness, but she was left unattended, resulting in death. Mr. A even tried to conceal the incident out of fear that their affair would be exposed," and imposed a heavy sentence. Mr. A was immediately detained in court following the second trial’s verdict.
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