A Daughter-in-Law Secretly Exhumed Her Husband's Grandparents' Graves... Cremated the Remains and Crushed Them into Stones

Sentenced to 10 Months in Prison and 2 Years Probation, Same as the First Trial

A woman in her 60s who took bones from her ancestral grandparents' grave, burned them with a torch in a vinyl greenhouse, and crushed them with stones was found guilty again in the second trial.

The Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 1 (Chief Judge Shim Hyun-geun) sentenced A (67), who was indicted for grave excavation, bone damage, and violation of the Funeral Services Act, to 10 months in prison with a two-year probation, the same as the original sentence, according to Yonhap News on the 18th. A was accused of taking bones from her ancestral grandparents' grave in Wonju, Gangwon Province, in March 2021, burning the bones with a butane gas torch in a vinyl greenhouse, and cremating them by crushing with stones and iron rods, together with her mother-in-law B (86) and a worker C (83). It is known that they committed this act arbitrarily without informing A’s husband. Cremating bones outside of designated cremation facilities or places is a violation of the Funeral Services Act.

Chuncheon District Court Building Exterior

The Wonju Branch of the Chuncheon District Court, which handled the first trial, stated, "Although A appears to have committed the crime without awareness of illegality at the request of her mother-in-law, she played a leading role in the actual process of grave excavation and cremation," and sentenced A to a suspended prison term. A’s side appealed the verdict, arguing, "She only introduced the worker at her mother-in-law’s request and was unaware that the act violated the law, so there was no intent, nor did she actively participate or facilitate the crime."

However, the appellate court reviewing the case did not accept A’s claims. The appellate court based its judgment on facts such as worker C informing A that "excavating or cremating without permission before grave excavation or cremation is a violation and punishable," yet A responded with a statement to the effect of "It’s family, so what does it matter," and that A herself mentioned recruiting the worker while negotiating specific work methods and daily wages.

The court stated, "It appears that A was aware of the illegality of her actions," and added, "Even if she judged that there was no problem, there is no indication that she made any effort to avoid the issue despite the worker raising concerns." Regarding sentencing, the court explained, "Since the original sentence was handed down, no new circumstances warranting reflection in sentencing or special changes justifying sentence modification have been found."

Meanwhile, in July of last year, the Wonju Branch of the Chuncheon District Court sentenced B, who was indicted on the same charges, to 10 months in prison with a two-year probation, and C, who received daily wages for participating in the crime, to 4 months in prison with a one-year probation, finalizing their sentences.