"Withdrew 1.2 Billion Won from Husband's Account Just Before Death"...Remarried Wife Receives Suspended Prison Sentence

Account Transfers Began Two Days After Husband's ICU Admission

Wife Argued, "Believed It Was Her Inheritance Share"

Court: "No Authority to Preemptively Acquire Inheritance Share"

A woman in her 60s who withdrew or transferred approximately 1.2 billion won from her remarried husband’s account while he was in a decreased state of consciousness in the intensive care unit has been convicted of fraud and related charges.

Court image. Photo by The Asia Business Daily Database

According to Yonhap News on May 20, the 12th Criminal Division of Suwon District Court (Presiding Judge Park Geonchang) sentenced Ms. A, who had been indicted on charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (fraud), forgery of private documents, and use of forged private documents, to two years in prison with a four-year suspended sentence.

Ms. A began cohabiting with Mr. B in July 2018 and became legally married after registering their marriage in February 2021. Thereafter, Mr. B’s health deteriorated following surgery after a fall, leading to his admission to the intensive care unit in October 2021; he passed away the following month. It was reported that Mr. B’s condition worsened rapidly after the surgery, having already been undergoing long-term dialysis treatment.

Prosecutors determined that Ms. A began diverting funds from shortly after Mr. B was admitted to the intensive care unit. Investigations found that on October 25, two days after her husband’s hospitalization, Ms. A withdrew 100 million won by cashier’s check and transferred 200 million won to her own account without authorization. The next day, she additionally transferred 400 million won to her account—the same day medical staff informed her that her husband was entering the final stages of life.

Even afterwards, until Mr. B’s death, Ms. A transferred over 500 million won to another account under Mr. B’s name that she managed. She was also charged with attempting, but failing, to dispose of stocks worth about 300 million won owned by her husband in order to receive the sale proceeds.

During the trial, Ms. A’s side argued that the withdrawals and transfers were in accordance with her husband’s wishes during his lifetime and that the amounts were within her inheritance share, so she had no intent to unlawfully acquire the funds.

However, the court did not accept this argument. The court stated, “There is no objective evidence that the deceased promised to gift assets equivalent to the defendant’s inheritance share or that he entrusted her with broad authority to dispose of his assets.” The court added, “Just a year before the incident, the deceased strictly controlled the defendant’s withdrawal of his deposits.”

Furthermore, the court explained, “The defendant began withdrawing and transferring more than 1 billion won immediately after recognizing the deceased was in a critical condition, disposing of the deposits rapidly within five days. It is reasonable to view this as an attempt to transfer the assets into her own name by exploiting de facto control, without legitimate authority over the assets.”

The court also pointed out, “The timing of the crime was before the deceased’s death, so the inheritance process had not yet begun. Since the inheritance share is determined after consultation with other heirs and reflection of any lifetime gifts, it is difficult to see that the defendant had the legitimate authority to preemptively acquire an amount equivalent to her inheritance share.”

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