Man Arrested for Killing Older Brother in His 70s Suffering from Dementia

Unable to Endure Caregiving Alone... Surrenders to Police After Killing Brother
Long-Term Caregiving Homicides Increase Amid Aging Society

A man in his 60s was arrested by police as a flagrant offender after killing his older brother in his 70s, whom he had been caring for alone while the brother suffered from dementia and chronic illness.

Busan Saha Police Station announced on April 20 that it had requested an arrest warrant for Mr. A on charges of murder.

Mr. A is suspected of strangling and killing his older brother, Mr. B, at their residence in Gamcheon-dong, Saha-gu, Busan, at around 6:10 p.m. on April 19.

Immediately after the crime, Mr. A contacted the police himself to turn himself in, and was arrested at the scene by responding officers.

According to the police investigation, Mr. B had suffered from senile dementia for a long period due to aftereffects of a traffic accident 10 years ago, experiencing both physical and mental difficulties. It was found that Mr. A, who had been caring for his brother alone, committed the crime after being unable to endure extreme stress.

It was also reported that Mr. B had frequently caused difficulties for Mr. A, such as getting lost after going out. As a result, Mr. A had reported Mr. B missing to the police and requested searches on about two occasions. On the day before the incident, Mr. B had also gone missing and returned home with police assistance.

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A police official explained, "It appears that Mr. A, while caring for his brother who was suffering both mentally and physically, was unable to control a sudden surge of anger and committed the crime when the victim was not in a normal cognitive state."

The official added, "It has also been determined that the two brothers lived alone together in an old house in the highlands of Gamcheon-dong, experiencing economic difficulties."

With the aging population, there has been an increase in cases where caregivers, unable to endure prolonged caregiving and financial hardship, kill the person they are caring for or attempt to take their own lives.

According to a study titled "Analysis of the Causes of Elderly Caregiving Crimes and Countermeasures," published in the Korean Citation Index (KCI) by Park Sukwan, a lecturer at Gyeongsang National University’s Department of Law, 213 people died as a result of caregiving-related murders between 2006 and 2018. Of these, 114 people, or 53.5%, were killed by family members. There were also 89 cases in which caregivers committed suicide after killing the person they cared for, or where the caregiver and patient attempted suicide together.

As projections suggest that by 2050, the elderly population in South Korea could exceed 40% of the total population, there are growing calls within the political sphere for realistic caregiving and support measures.