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Former couple sentenced for abusing and exploiting man with disabilities

Published: 05 Nov. 2025, 15:34

Close up of a court mallet [GETTY IMAGES BANK]

A man and woman in their 20s who assaulted a man with an intellectual disability and forced him to work without pay were sentenced to prison in an appellate court ruling Wednesday.

The Jeonju branch of the Gwangju High Court sentenced the 28-year-old man to three years in prison and the 27-year-old woman to three years and six months, for aggravated assault and exploiting the victim’s labor, among other charges.

The pair, who were previously married, stood trial separately after getting divorced following the incident.

The man’s sentence remained unchanged from the lower court ruling, while the woman’s sentence was reduced by six months from the original four years.

“The defendants treated the victim like a slave, forcing him to obtain a motorcycle license and stealing his delivery wages,” the appellate court said. “They even made him do household chores and abducted him when he tried to flee.”

However, the court also considered that the defendants expressed remorse during the trial and reached a settlement with the victim. Petitions from their families seeking leniency were also taken into account in sentencing.

Between February 2021 and February 2022, the then-couple repeatedly assaulted the victim, a man with an intellectual disability, using their fists, feet and farm tools, while forcing him to work.

The victim eventually began working in food delivery under duress.

The couple took 27 million won ($18,700) in wages the victim earned from delivery work and an additional 3 million won in social benefits issued in his name, using the money for living expenses.

They had initially lured the victim to live with them by saying they would “take good care of him” as he had no family, before beginning the exploitation.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JUNG SI-NAE [[email protected]]