Man in his 50s who killed wife 9 years ago kills second wife... '22 years imprisonment'

Sentenced to 4 Years in Military Court for Killing Wife in 2015
Law: "Received Mental Illness Treatment but Not Mentally Incapacitated"

A man in his 50s who was previously sentenced to prison for killing his wife nine years ago has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for killing his remarried wife.

On the 22nd, the Criminal Division 12 of Suwon District Court (Presiding Judge Hwang In-seong) sentenced Mr. A, who was indicted on charges of murder, to 22 years in prison and also ordered the attachment of an electronic location tracking device for 10 years. This sentence is heavier than the recommended sentencing guideline of 10 to 16 years in prison.

Suwon District Court exterior view
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Mr. A is accused of killing his wife, Ms. B, in her 40s, on the afternoon of July 12 last year at around 6 p.m. at the laundry shop he operated in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. At the time, he and Ms. B were arguing about closing the laundry and starting a new business. Mr. A became enraged because he felt that his wife was not properly listening to his opinion and committed the crime. Immediately after the crime, Mr. A called 112 himself, but Ms. B, who was transported to the hospital in a state of cardiac arrest, died in November of the same year after four months of treatment. Mr. A was initially charged with attempted murder, but the charge was changed to murder after Ms. B’s death.

Previously, in September 2015, when Mr. A was a soldier, he was sentenced to four years in prison and treatment detention by the Naval Operations Command Ordinary Military Court for killing another wife. At that time, it was also investigated that Mr. A killed his spouse in a similar manner after losing his temper during an argument, similar to this case.

During the trial, Mr. A claimed that he was in a state of insanity or diminished mental capacity at the time of the crime, but the court did not accept this. The court explained, “The defendant himself reported to 112 immediately after the crime and gave a detailed statement about the circumstances, means, and methods of the crime during the initial investigation. Considering the previous murder crime for which he received treatment detention for a considerable period and the results of the psychiatric evaluation, it does not appear that he lacked or had diminished capacity to distinguish right from wrong or control his actions.”

Furthermore, the court pointed out, “Although the defendant admits his wrongdoing and has been treated for mental illness for a considerable period, the victim was the spouse whom the defendant should have protected and likely experienced extreme pain and fear until losing consciousness.” Regarding the sentencing reasons, the court explained, “The defendant arbitrarily stopped taking medication despite being advised to take it for life and is blaming the victim for this. The victim’s bereaved family, who once accepted the defendant as family, is pleading for a severe punishment.”