Man sentenced to 25 years for killing wife

The Seoul Southern District Court / Korea Times file

A Seoul court has sentenced a man in his 30s to 25 years in prison for murdering his wife three months into their marriage after she refused to engage in sexual relations with him.

The Seoul Southern District Court’s Criminal Division, presided over by Judge Jang Chan, sentenced the 35-year-old defendant, surnamed Seo, to prison on Thursday on charges of murder. The court rejected the prosecution’s request for probation.

“The defendant brutally killed the spouse who had promised to be with him for life, in a home that should have been the most peaceful place,” the court said. “The fear and pain the victim must have felt are unimaginable, and the defendant’s attempts to minimize and conceal his crime only deepened the family’s suffering.”

Seo strangled his wife while she was lying in bed at their home in Gangseo District, Seoul, on March 13. He later acted as chief mourner at her funeral (the main person responsible for organizing and representing the family) before being arrested by the police.

Seo had repeatedly demanded sex from his wife even during the early stages of her pregnancy, and continued to do so while she was receiving treatment after a miscarriage, according to investigators.

In January, after his wife notified him of her intent to divorce and he later discovered messages she had sent to acquaintances saying she was struggling with his excessive demands and regretted the marriage, he flew into a rage and committed the crime, the court found.

The court said Seo exploited the fact that his wife had been drinking and had taken sleeping pills, leaving her unable to resist. After the killing, he deleted the home camera application and changed her phone password in an attempt to avoid detection.

“He calmly pretended to grieve before being arrested at the funeral, and continued to deny responsibility until confronted with evidence, showing a calculating and inhumane attitude,” the judge said.

Seo initially claimed the killing was accidental during an argument. However, the court rejected this, citing autopsy results that detected the sleeping pill doxylamine in the victim’s system and a blood alcohol concentration of 0.024 percent.

“The terror and betrayal the victim felt in her final moments are beyond measure,” the ruling continued. “Her family cannot forgive the defendant and has pleaded for severe punishment. Murder is the ultimate violation of human life, and stern punishment is unavoidable.”

Prosecutors had sought life imprisonment at the final hearing on Sept. 11, calling the crime “an act motivated by reasons that no reasonable person could possibly accept.”

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.