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Prosecution challenges ruling in case of man who abandoned bleeding, unconscious wife

Published: 22 May. 2025, 13:02

A 64-year-old Korean man was charged with abandoning his unconscious, bleeding wife, leaving her at home while he went out to play tennis on May 9, 2023. [GETTY IMAGES BANK]

Prosecutors have filed an appeal against a court ruling that partially acquitted a 64-year-old man of charges related to leaving his injured wife unattended at home while he went out to play tennis.

The Incheon District Prosecutors’ Office submitted an appeal on Wednesday challenging the lower court's verdict handed down to the defendant, according to legal sources on Thursday.

The incident occurred on May 9, 2023, around 6:12 p.m., at the couple’s home in Ganghwa County, Incheon, according to court documents.

The defendant returned home briefly to change clothes before heading out to play tennis. Upon discovering his unconscious wife, in her 50s, collapsed on the bathroom floor and bleeding from a head injury, he took a photo of her and sent it to his stepdaughter before leaving the house without providing aid.

Emergency responders transported the injured woman to a hospital after her daughter called the 119 emergency hotline. Doctors later diagnosed her with a traumatic subdural hematoma. She has remained in a vegetative state since the incident.

The court had sentenced the man to one year and six months in prison, suspended for two years, for abandonment. However, the judge ruled him not guilty of the more serious charge of bodily injury resulting from abandonment.

Prosecutors had initially sought a seven-year prison sentence during the final hearing in March. They argued that the man bore direct responsibility for the worsening condition of his wife.

The defendant has not appealed the verdict as of Thursday, but the prosecution’s appeal means a second trial will proceed at the Incheon District Court.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY LEE JI-YOUNG [[email protected]]