Husband in 'Yeosu Geumodo Incident' Appeals After Being Found Guilty of Intentional Murder in 1.2 Billion Won Insurance Lawsuit

Raising the vehicle involved in the 'Yeosu Geumodo Incident.' / Photo by SBS, screenshot from the broadcast of 'Unanswered Questions.'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The husband involved in the "Yeosu Geumodo Incident," who was acquitted by the Supreme Court after being charged with murdering his wife, appealed after losing the first trial of a death insurance claim lawsuit where intentional murder was recognized.

According to the court on the 15th, the husband, Mr. Park, submitted an appeal on the 13th to the Civil Division 22 of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Jeong Jaehee), which handled the first trial of the 1.2 billion KRW insurance claim lawsuit filed against Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance, Lotte Insurance, and the National Credit Union Federation of Korea.

The court had dismissed Mr. Park's claim on the 9th, stating, "Civil trials are not bound by the conclusions of criminal trials, and intentional murder is recognized against Mr. Park."

It added, "The possibility that this accident occurred by chance appears extremely low. Even if the accident itself involved many impulsive and accidental elements, it does not prevent recognizing the likelihood that the plaintiff intentionally caused the accident. It is very unusual and difficult to understand the reason for prioritizing changing the beneficiaries of various insurances at a time shortly after the marriage registration, when he had not even properly greeted his family."

The court also pointed out that it is difficult to acknowledge that he actually attempted to rescue his wife. The court stated, "The plaintiff testified that the deceased shouted 'oppa' (older brother) and that the plaintiff called the deceased's name and jumped into the sea, but there is no indication of the plaintiff's presence in the deceased's 119 emergency call report," concluding that the husband had left the accident scene by the time the wife made the 119 call.

Earlier, Mr. Park was arrested and indicted on charges of murder and violation of the Special Act on the Treatment of Traffic Accidents for causing his wife’s death by driving a Genesis sedan off the pier at Jikpo Village, Geumodo, Yeosu City, Jeollanam-do, around 10 p.m. on December 31, 2018.

At the time, Mr. Park and his wife were at the pier. While reversing, he hit the guardrail meant to prevent falling and got out alone from the driver's seat to check the car's condition. However, because he left the car in neutral gear on a slope, the car with his wife inside rolled into the sea. The wife called 119 at approximately 10:56:30 p.m., reporting "the car is sinking," and at around 11:00:38 p.m., she said, "Ah, I’m locked in." She stopped responding after the sound of water intake at about 11:00:50 p.m. She ultimately drowned.

After the accident, it was revealed that Mr. Park, who held a Meritz Insurance agent license, had taken out six insurance policies with his wife as the insured, falsely inflating her annual salary and other details to increase the insurance payout. It was also found that he changed the insurance beneficiaries to himself shortly after registering their marriage about 20 days before the accident.

Investigations showed that before getting out of the car, Mr. Park opened the rear window about 7 cm, claiming there was a smell in the car. The prosecution judged this as an act intended to make the car sink faster.

The first criminal trial convicted Mr. Park of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment, but the second trial overturned the verdict to acquittal due to insufficient evidence proving intentional murder. Instead, he was sentenced to three years in prison for violating the Special Act on the Treatment of Traffic Accidents (causing death). The Supreme Court upheld this ruling.

After being acquitted of murder by the Supreme Court, Mr. Park filed an insurance claim for his wife's death benefits against the insurance companies. When the insurers refused, he filed a civil lawsuit. The "Yeosu Geumodo Murder Case" attracted public attention and was featured on SBS's investigative program "Unanswered Questions."

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