Couple Brutally Murdered After Gasoline Doused, Claimed 'Diminished Mental Capacity' but Sentenced to Life Imprisonment

Published 21 Nov.2020 13:01(KST)

[Asia Economy Reporter Nah Han-ah] A woman in her 60s who doused her business partner and his family with gasoline and set them on fire using a portable lighter was sentenced to life imprisonment in both the first trial and the appeal trial.

The Criminal Division 1 of the Chuncheon Branch of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Park Jae-woo) dismissed both the appeal filed by Park (62, female), who was charged with murder and other offenses, citing unfair sentencing, and the appeal filed by the prosecution, upholding the life sentence from the original trial.

At around 2:48 a.m. on November 1 last year, at a house in Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon Province, Park poured gasoline on A (64), her broccoli cultivation business partner, and his wife B (61).

Shouting "Die!", Park used a portable lighter to set fire to the couple's bodies. The entire incident occurred within just three minutes.

When Mr. and Mrs. A tried to extinguish the flames on their bodies and collapsed in the yard after leaving the house, Park poured gasoline on them again. Not satisfied with that, she brought gasoline stored in a water container from her van and poured it on the couple once more.

The couple’s daughter (44) sprayed water to put out the fire on her parents, but Park also doused her with gasoline and set her on fire, causing burns to her face and neck.

Eventually, Mr. A died five days later from multiple organ failure while receiving treatment for full-body burns, and Mrs. B passed away 12 days later from sepsis.

Investigations revealed that Park had invested about 300 million won to enter into a partnership with Mr. A but was unable to recover any investment returns, leading to severe financial difficulties and extreme resentment toward the couple, which motivated the crime.

During the trial, Park claimed she had suffered severe depression due to prolonged stress over the partnership issues with Mr. A and argued that she was in a state of diminished mental capacity at the time of the crime, having consumed a large amount of alcohol since the evening before the incident.

However, the first trial court judged that Park was not in a diminished mental state capable of impairing her decision-making at the time of the crime, based on evidence such as her ability to specifically explain the problems in the partnership while drinking the day before the incident.

Regarding the claim of diminished capacity due to intoxication, the court rejected it, stating that Park showed no signs of clumsiness or staggering, as she retrieved additional gasoline from the van and circled the area in the van searching for hidden victims.

The court sentenced her to life imprisonment, stating, "Park repeatedly claimed from the investigation stage to the courtroom that the victims were at fault for the crime, expressing resentment toward them and emphasizing her own grievances, raising doubts about her genuine remorse."

Dissatisfied with the verdict, Park appealed again, claiming diminished mental capacity and arguing that "the sentence is too heavy," while the prosecution, which had sought the death penalty, also appealed, arguing that "the sentence is too light."

On the 18th, the Chuncheon Branch of the Seoul High Court dismissed both appeals. The court stated, "Human life is the highest legal interest protected by law and the most dignified value, and any act infringing upon it is unforgivable regardless of the reason. There are no special circumstances warranting a different sentence."