Man who killed wife, disguised crime as traffic accident sentenced to 40 years in prison on appeal
Published: 15 Jan. 2026, 21:24
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Close-up of a court gavel [GETTY IMAGES BANK]
A man who killed his wife and disguised the crime as a traffic accident to collect insurance money was sentenced to a total of 40 years in prison on appeal.
The Suwon High Court on Thursday upheld the lower court's sentences of 35 years in prison for murder and five years for violating the Special Act on Prevention of Insurance Fraud.
“The defendant meticulously planned the crime after facing financial hardship due to a failed business venture and mounting pressure to return lease deposits,” the court said. “He killed his wife and attempted to obtain insurance money by staging a traffic accident. Given the nature and circumstances of the crime, the degree of culpability is extremely grave.”
The court added that after holding his wife’s funeral, the defendant failed to properly care for their daughter and used the insurance payout — which amounted to 523 million won ($356,000) — to repay his debts, after which he purchased a luxury car and spent time with his extramarital partner.
“He appears to have lived without remorse following his wife’s death,” the court said. “The victim was deprived of her life, and her family, including her daughter and mother, continues to suffer severe emotional distress and has strongly called for a heavy sentence.”
The defendant was indicted for killing his wife on June 2, 2020. According to prosecutors, he drove her to a remote wooded area in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, and suffocated her.
Investigators found that the defendant then drove with his unresponsive wife and deliberately caused a single-car crash. When the vehicle caught fire from the impact, he pulled his wife from the car and escaped with her.
During questioning, the defendant falsely told investigators that his wife had been driving and that the crash occurred after an animal suddenly appeared on the road.
However, an autopsy found that the cause of death — hypoxic brain damage — occurred before the crash, and signs of physical resistance were discovered on the body.
Investigators also obtained audio recordings from the victim’s family, which revealed that the victim had previously suspected her husband would try to kill her to collect insurance money. Based on this evidence, prosecutors arrested and indicted the defendant on murder and related charges.
Authorities additionally found that the defendant had repeatedly scouted the crime scene in advance to ensure there were no surveillance cameras in the area and secretly purchased travel insurance in his wife’s name, extending the coverage period to the day before the crime.
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]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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