60-Year-Old Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Murdering Ex-Wife and Abandoning Body in Suitcase

A heavy prison sentence has been handed down to a man in his 60s who murdered his ex-wife and abandoned her body in a travel suitcase.

The 23rd Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Oh Se-yong) sentenced the defendant, surnamed Lee, to 25 years in prison and ordered five years of probation on charges of murder and abandonment of a corpse.

Lee was arrested and indicted for murdering his ex-wife in her 50s at an apartment in Umyeon-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, at around 11:20 a.m. on March 30, and subsequently putting her body in a suitcase and abandoning it.

The police, dispatched following a report from the couple's son that he could not get in touch with his parents, urgently arrested Lee at around 5 p.m. on the same day as he was abandoning the body in the drainage ditch of a cemetery on a mountain in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province.

During the investigation and trial, Lee claimed that when his ex-wife filed a property division lawsuit, he accidentally killed her while attempting to have a conversation to ascertain the background of the suit.

The court pointed out, "This is a crime in which the defendant brutally beat the face of the victim, with whom he shared a married life for 28 years, and strangled her to death with both hands, before transporting the body in a carrier and abandoning it in a mountain drainage ditch," adding, "The criminal responsibility is extremely heavy and the nature of the crime is quite poor."

It further explained, "The victim was responsible for the household finances and took sole charge of raising the children on behalf of the defendant throughout their marriage."

"Even though the defendant did not care for the family, he reacted with hostility to the victim's request for the division of marital property, making his motive for the crime extremely poor," it added.

The court also stated that Lee concealed the crime meticulously, failing to take any rescue measures and instead abandoning the corpse immediately, removing the USIM chip from his mobile phone, and discarding the towel used to wipe away blood.

It reprimanded him, saying, "Rather than the behavior shown by a person who committed an accidental murder in a state of panic, this appears to have been aimed at minimizing the possibility of the crime being discovered and his arrest."

It emphasized, "During this process, the defendant did not even make an effort to show minimal respect for the deceased victim."

The court noted, "It is difficult to imagine the shock and terror experienced by the deceased victim from the defendant's attack until her last breath stopped, and the defendant and the victim's sons have fallen into deep sorrow and extreme psychological distress due to this incident."

The court also ordered probation, stating that the possibility could not be ruled out that Lee committed the murder harboring dissatisfaction and resentment toward his two sons.

It was reported that Lee's second son stated during the earlier investigation and court proceedings, "If my father is released, he seems likely to harm my older brother or me on the grounds that we gave unfavorable statements, and if he gets out decades from now, he seems likely to kill me and my wife and children."

The court explained, "The crime of murder irreversibly violates human life, which holds a dignified and absolute value, and in itself warrants a degree of blameworthiness that is incomparable to any other crime."

However, it added that factors such as Lee showing remorse for his wrongdoings and having no prior criminal record were reflected in the sentencing.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.