"Afraid of inheritance disadvantages," son stores father's body in kimchi refrigerator

A man in his 40s who kept his father's body in a kimchi refrigerator for 1 year and 7 months has been arrested. It was revealed that the son committed this act out of concern that the father's death, which occurred during a divorce and property division lawsuit with his stepmother, would cause disadvantages in inheritance and other matters.

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According to Yonhap News Agency, the Icheon Police Station in Gyeonggi Province arrested a man in his 40s, identified as A, on the 23rd on charges of corpse concealment. A is accused of visiting his father B’s house in Icheon City, where B lived alone, in April 2023, discovering his father had passed away, but not reporting it and instead wrapping the body in plastic and storing it in a kimchi refrigerator for 1 year and 7 months.

Before his death, B had been engaged in a divorce and property division lawsuit with his spouse, C, who is also A’s stepmother, since July 2022. According to civil law, if a party dies during such a lawsuit, there is no provision allowing another person to continue it on their behalf, so the lawsuit ends and the spouse gains inheritance rights. If B’s death became known, the divorce would not be finalized, and C would still be legally considered his spouse, thereby gaining rights to inherit a predetermined share of B’s other assets not subject to property division.

Therefore, A is believed to have committed this act out of fear that his father’s death would cause him financial disadvantages. It is also known that the house where A lived was owned by B and included in the inheritance.

Due to A’s crime, the lawsuit between B and C continued through legal representatives. Then, a final ruling from the Supreme Court was issued in April last year, one year after B’s death. During this process, A reportedly exchanged text messages with C using B’s mobile phone to conceal the fact that his father had died.

In October last year, a missing person report for B was filed by a relative, prompting a police investigation. About a month later, in November, A surrendered to the police with a lawyer. As an only son, he reportedly consulted with his wife, who was aware of his crime, before going to the police. He admitted to the charges during questioning, stating, "I thought there would be disadvantages if it became known that my father had passed away and the lawsuit ended."

The Suwon District Court Yeoju Branch issued a pre-trial detention warrant for A on the previous day, citing "risk of flight and the serious nature of the crime," on charges of corpse concealment.

A police official stated, "The suspect initially claimed to have abandoned the body in September 2023, but investigations confirmed that the body was abandoned earlier, in April of the same year." However, "since the autopsy did not find direct evidence of homicide, the case will be forwarded only on charges of corpse concealment," the official added.

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