60s Man Who Set Fire to Ex-Wife's House After Rejection of Reconciliation

Sentenced to 5 Years Imprisonment for Arson of Occupied Building and Attempted Murder Charges

A man in his 60s in Goesan-gun, Chungbuk, was sentenced to prison for attempting to kill his ex-spouse by setting fire to their house after she refused to reconcile.

According to Yonhap News on the 4th, Chief Judge Oh Sang-yong of the 22nd Criminal Division at Cheongju District Court sentenced A (67) to five years in prison on charges of arson of an inhabited building and attempted murder.

Fire
[Photo by Yonhap News]

A is accused of setting fire to a house in Goesan-gun, Chungbuk, last September, attempting to kill his ex-wife who was inside the house at the time. However, the victim escaped by opening a bathroom window, resulting in an attempted murder charge.

Police investigations revealed that A visited the victim’s house hoping to reconcile with his ex-wife. After being rejected at the door, he committed the crime out of a sense of hopelessness about restoring their relationship and feeling ignored.

Prior to the crime, A had a history of court-issued restraining orders prohibiting him from approaching or contacting his ex-wife. He had attempted to damage the front door because she would not open it. During the trial, he reportedly claimed he had no intent to kill.

However, the court judged that A could have reasonably foreseen the possibility of death. The court noted that he set fire near the only entrance of the house, the front door; that he was aware the victim had physical disabilities making evacuation difficult; and that he neither reported the fire nor attempted to extinguish it after the crime.

Chief Judge Oh explained the sentencing, saying, "Considering the motive, method, and scale of the damage, the crime is very serious. However, the sentence took into account that the crime was an attempt and no casualties occurred."

Earlier last month, a man in his 40s was arrested for hitting his ex-wife and her boyfriend with a blunt weapon. The 40-year-old B is accused of injuring his ex-wife B and her boyfriend C by striking their heads with a pre-prepared blunt object at a one-room apartment in Jigok-dong, Gunsan-si, Jeonbuk, around 7 p.m. on the 29th of last month. Police investigations revealed that the man, who divorced B earlier this year, learned that his ex-wife had a boyfriend and, while intoxicated, brought a blunt weapon to B’s residence and committed the assault.

Additionally, a man in his 20s, D, was indicted while in custody for threatening to "kill" his ex-wife E, who was the victim in a domestic violence assault case currently on trial. It was investigated that D committed this crime after E’s testimony during the trial, where he was being prosecuted for assaulting her, suggested he would face a harsher punishment.