A Man in His 20s Hit His Wife's Head Suspecting an Affair... Why He Was Punished Despite Reaching a Settlement

No Applicable Crime of Injury or Crime Requiring Victim's Consent
Chuncheon District Court Sentences 10 Million Won Fine

A man in his 20s who violently hit the head of his common-law wife, causing injury, on suspicion of infidelity was sentenced to a fine.

On the 24th, the Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Kim Taek-seong) announced that it had sentenced Mr. A, who was indicted on charges of injury, to a fine of 10 million won.

Mr. A was brought to trial on charges of hitting the head of his common-law spouse, Ms. B, about 20 times with both hands and his right foot near a convenience store in Yanggu-gun, Gangwon Province, on September 18 last year while they were talking, causing injuries that required about two weeks of treatment.

Chuncheon District Court Photo by Yonhap News

According to the investigation, Mr. A committed this crime in a fit of rage during the conversation because he suspected Ms. B of infidelity. Although the two reached an agreement, since the crime of injury is not subject to the victim's non-prosecution request, Mr. A could not avoid punishment.

A victim's non-prosecution request refers to crimes that cannot be prosecuted if the victim clearly expresses the intention not to seek punishment. Representative crimes subject to this include assault, threats, defamation, and negligent injury.

Assault is punishable by imprisonment of up to 2 years, a fine of up to 5 million won, detention, or a minor fine, whereas injury is punishable by imprisonment of up to 7 years, disqualification for up to 10 years, or a fine of up to 10 million won, as stipulated by the Criminal Act.

Assault and injury both involve causing harm to a person's body, but injury requires that the violence results in a physiological functional disorder of the victim's body. In other words, the victim must suffer physical or mental damage from the violence.

Presiding Judge Kim pointed out, "Considering that the defendant has a history of multiple punishments for similar violent crimes in the past and yet committed this crime again, strict punishment for the defendant is necessary."

He added regarding the sentencing rationale, "However, the sentence was determined comprehensively considering that the defendant admitted wrongdoing, showed remorse, and reached an agreement with the victim."

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