Mother Who Killed Husband After 40 Years of Domestic Violence... Suspended Sentence in 국민참여재판 (National Participation Trial)

Mother Who Claimed Sole Responsibility Confesses After Intense Questioning
Mother Tried and Failed to Pour Acid... Son Killed Father with Blunt Weapon
Court Shows Leniency to Son and Mother Who Killed Father
"40 Years of Domestic Violence Is a Key Cause of This Case"

Domestic violence. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] To end 40 years of domestic violence, the son struck his father, and the mother, to protect her son, struck her husband?who was still breathing?with the weapon her son had used. The court showed leniency toward the son and mother.

On the 7th, the Ulsan District Court Criminal Division 11 (Chief Judge Park Ju-young) sentenced the son, Kim (41), who was charged with killing his father Kim (69) (parricide), to 7 years in prison, and the mother, Song (65), to 3 years in prison with a 5-year probation. The trial was conducted as a citizen trial.

The prosecution sought 12 years in prison for the mother and 22 years for the son.

Among the nine jurors in the citizen trial, seven recommended 3 years in prison with a 5-year probation for the mother, while two recommended 5 years in prison. Regarding the son, the majority opinion of four jurors was 7 years in prison.

The court explained the sentencing, stating, "The crime was committed against a victim who was disabled and heavily intoxicated, which makes the nature of the crime serious," but also considered "the 40 years of domestic violence as a significant cause of this incident, and the fact that the bereaved family and others around them all wish for leniency."

It added, "The decision for probation does not take the deceased victim’s life lightly but respects the jurors’ opinions. It also considers the need to reflect on the horrific consequences of domestic violence and to make efforts to eradicate it."

According to the court and others, on May 12, a report was received from the son Kim that his father had died, prompting police to respond. At the scene, the father Kim was found bleeding and collapsed after being struck multiple times with a blunt weapon, and substances such as hydrochloric acid were found on the floor. The mother Song told the police, "I killed my husband because I could no longer endure domestic violence."

However, ten days later, the police arrested the son Kim on charges of parricide, viewing the two as accomplices. The police interrogated the mother Song, mentioning that the son was present during the crime, and after initially insisting on acting alone several times, the mother eventually confessed the truth.

On the day of the incident at 5:43 p.m., at their home in Ulsan, the husband Kim confronted Song over purchasing a smartphone plan costing 25,000 won, saying, "Hey, you blockhead, do you even know how to use a smartphone? How dare you get a plan costing 25,000 won?" and eventually strangled Song.

At the time, their grandson, whom Song was raising after the son’s divorce, was at home. The grandson called Kim, who was at work, and Kim reported to 112, saying, "My parents are having a severe fight." However, when the police arrived, Song expressed that she did not want to press charges against her husband, and the case was closed.

About three hours later, the son Kim returned home, and he and his father began arguing over the earlier incident. Song handed a bottle of hydrochloric acid from the veranda to her husband, saying, "It will only end if the two of us die," but no one drank it.

The quarrel did not end there. That night, the father again hit his wife Song with his fist, which angered the son, who then punched his father in the face. The son did not stop there; he took a blunt weapon from the house and struck his father.

Seeing this, Song decided to take responsibility for her son’s actions. She tried to pour hydrochloric acid into her husband’s mouth, but Kim, who was conscious, did not open his mouth. Song then struck her husband multiple times with the blunt weapon her son had used, and he eventually died from excessive bleeding.

Investigations revealed that the Kim couple had experienced domestic violence since their marriage in 1975. The son told the police, "I tried to end the long-lasting domestic violence."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.