"You Are My Wife"... A Man in His 50s Secretly Registered Marriage with a 29-Year-Younger Person with Developmental Disabilities

Embezzlement of Disability Allowance and Stalking Charges Also

A man in his 50s who embezzled disability allowances from a 29-year-old woman with developmental disabilities and even registered their marriage without her knowledge has been arrested and indicted.

The Criminal Division 3 of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Jeong Hwajun) announced on the 15th that Mr. A (50) was arrested and prosecuted on charges including quasi-fraud, violation of the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities, and violation of the Act on the Punishment of Stalking Crimes.

Between January and March, Mr. A is suspected of approaching Ms. B, a woman in her 20s who was staying long-term at a motel in Gyeonggi Province where he worked, and embezzling about 1.5 million won in disability allowances and basic living subsidies. He is also accused of embezzling about 1.9 million won in basic living subsidies from Mr. C, another man in his 20s with developmental disabilities who was staying with Ms. B.

It was revealed that he embezzled money by using the victims' mobile phones to set up automatic transfers of disability allowances to his own bank account.

After secretly registering a marriage with Ms. B, Mr. A psychologically dominated the victim by saying, "You are my wife." It was also found that he had Ms. B stay at the home of his former common-law spouse. Mr. A is accused of assaulting Ms. B when she tried to leave the residence and stalking her by repeatedly contacting her despite her requests to stop.

After receiving the stalking case from the police, the prosecution conducted additional investigations and uncovered further crimes including quasi-fraud against Ms. B and others.

The prosecution confirmed that Ms. B had no intention to continue the marriage with the defendant and, through the Suwon branch of the Korea Legal Aid Corporation, filed a lawsuit for annulment of the marriage. They also requested the Developmental Disability Support Center to establish a support plan and provide job assistance. Furthermore, tailored support was provided to the victims, including returning Ms. B to her family.