Man Acquitted of Abetting Suicide by Girlfriends Ex-lover

A young man, who had been jailed on charges of aiding the suicide of his girlfriend's former lover, was released after an appeals court overturned his guilty verdict, court documents showed Wednesday.

The Seoul High Court lifted a one-year prison sentence for the 30-year-old, only identified by his surname Jang, saying he did not expect the victim to translate his suicide threat into action, according to Yonhap News.

The bizarre tragedy occurred in the predawn hours last September in Seoul, when the victim, 26, appeared in front of the couple as they were leaving an arcade by car. The woman's ex boyfriend jumped into the path of the car and cried, "If she doesn't get out of the car, I will kill myself right here," then doused himself with gasoline.

Jang said, "Then do it, if you want," throwing his lighter to the man.

After hesitating for about 30 seconds, the man torched his body with the lighter, sustaining severe burn injuries. He was taken to a hospital but died in less than three months from multiple organ failure.

The initial verdict by the Seoul Eastern District Court in April convicted Jang of the crime of abetting self-destruction and put him behind bars, saying he should at least take moral responsibility for the man's death.

But Judge Lee Ki-taek in the appeals court noted that the premise for Jang's action was that the victim would not dare to kill himself. The victim must have appeared at that time to be expressing his emotions for his former lover with the extreme behavior, rather than genuinely appearing ready to commit suicide, the judge said, citing evidence that he had handed over his cigarettes and lighter to his friend beforehand so that they would not get wet. He also left no suicide note, the judge said.