Court hands down 30 years in domestic violence murder case

A man suspected of murdering his ex-wife enters the Seoul Southern District Court for the review of a request for an arrest warrant in this October file photo. / Yonhap

By Lee Suh-yoon

A man charged with stabbing his ex-wife to death in a parking lot in western Seoul, was sentenced to 30 years in jail, Friday.

In handing down the verdict, the Seoul Southern District Court said the convicted man demonstrated a “high risk” of repeating a similar crime.

The man, surnamed Kim, stabbed his wife 13 times in the parking lot of an apartment complex in western Seoul, Oct. 22.

“He blamed his ex-wife for their split, tracked her consistently, stalked her and finally killed her,” the court said. “The bereaved family, including the victim's daughters, suffered huge grief and mental pain, and are demanding heavy punishment for fear of retaliation.”

The case raised attention to the vulnerability of domestic violence victims ― even after divorce.

The victim divorced Kim four years before the murder, after he had repeatedly assaulted her and their three daughters. Despite multiple police interventions and a restraining order, Kim was able to continue stalking the victim, who changed her accommodation five times in four years as she sought to hide from her ex-husband.

Kim apparently boasted of how he would cite the influence of alcohol or drugs to get away with killing his ex-wife with a light six-month jail term, his daughters said. After his arrest, Kim told police his “pent-up emotions” from the divorce process were to blame.

The case gained more attention than similar cases through a petition started by Kim's daughters. The petition, calling on the judiciary to “forever separate our father (Kim) from the rest of society,” gained over 210,000 signatures. This prompted the government to introduce special protection measures for victims of domestic violence including making it mandatory for police officers to arrest perpetrators on the site and making it a criminal offense to ignore a restraining order.