"Enraged by 'Let's die together' remark, man in his 70s sentenced to 16 years for killing his wife by setting her on fire"

[Financial News] A man in his 70s who doused his wife with thinner and set her on fire during a marital dispute, causing her death, was handed a heavy prison sentence at first instance.
According to the legal community on the 13th, Criminal Division 11 of the Seoul Northern District Court, presided over by Judge Choi Kyung-seo, sentenced a man identified as Choi, 75, to 16 years in prison on murder charges. The court rejected the prosecution's request for an electronic monitoring device.
Choi was brought to trial for allegedly killing his wife on the afternoon of November 28 last year after an argument over financial problems in the living room of their home. He is accused of pouring one container of thinner, a flammable substance of about 1 liter, on her and then igniting it with a lighter.
Investigators found that he committed the crime after becoming angry when the victim, while drinking with him and arguing, said, "Let's just die together and be done with it."
The victim, his wife, suffered burns across her face, neck, chest, abdomen, back, arms, and thighs. She was treated at a hospital but died of sepsis nine days after the incident.
After putting out the flames on the victim's body, Choi did not immediately call 119 or take her to a hospital. Instead, he left her without meaningful aid until his daughter, son-in-law, and acquaintances arrived at the scene. As a result, she did not reach the hospital for treatment until more than two hours after sustaining full-body burns.
Investigators also found that Choi had repeatedly committed domestic violence in the past. In around March 2023, after assaulting the victim during another dispute over money, he was referred by the Seoul Northern District Prosecutors' Office to the Family Court on charges of aggravated assault.
The court stressed that the crime was highly blameworthy and that the method was extremely brutal. It said, "He killed the victim, his spouse of decades, simply because he became angry during a marital quarrel," adding that "the motive for the crime is extremely reprehensible."
The court also said, "By pouring thinner on the victim and setting her entire body on fire, he inflicted extreme physical pain far beyond ordinary levels in killing her, so the method was also extremely cruel." It added that he "repeatedly changed his statement and appeared focused only on avoiding responsibility."
However, the court took into account mitigating factors, including that the crime appears to have been somewhat spontaneous, that he seems to have extinguished the fire on the victim immediately after the attack, and that he is elderly at 75.
The court said, "Given that a substantial prison term has been imposed, there is no need to issue a separate attachment order to prevent reoffending after release," and rejected the prosecution's request for electronic monitoring.
Earlier, prosecutors had sought 20 years in prison and 30 years of electronic monitoring for Choi at the sentencing hearing held last month.
At the time, Choi's side admitted all the charges but asked for leniency, arguing that the crime was committed impulsively after a long period of marital conflict, while he was heavily intoxicated and had been receiving treatment for panic disorder for years.
jyseo@fnnews.com Seo Ji-yoon Reporter