On October 9, 2014, a murder case occurred at Tower Palace in스포츠토토 Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, a famous symbol of wealth. At around 7:50 a.m., Ms. Lee, a woman in her 50s, tied the arms and legs of her husband, Mr. Byeon Byeon, who was asleep after drinking alcohol and taking sleeping pills, and suffocated her by pressing his face with her pillow. Lee said two hours after her crime, she called the police herself and reported, “I killed her husband.”
Lee met Byun while she was running an illegal taxi business, and they married in 1984. However, the married life that followed was hell. Ms. Byeon, who became a fortune worth tens of billions of dollars through her successful arcade business, frequently used verbal abuse and violence against Ms. Lee. Especially on days when she drank alcohol, she assaulted Mr. Lee even in front of her young son.
In a police investigation immediately after her crime, Ms. Lee stated, “I always suffered from domestic violence.” She ended up in the hospital several times, leaving her son behind to escape her husband, or even attempted suicide, she said. He, who had been with her for 30 years, said, “I was trying to put a pillow under her head, but in a moment of rage, I killed her.”
The prosecution judged that Lee’s crime was intentional and requested 10 years in prison. I heard about money issues in the background. However, Ms. Lee faked a divorce with Ms. Byun due to financial difficulties caused by the failure of her parents’ business, and was in a common-law relationship with Mr. Byeon, making it difficult to divide her family and assets.
Ms. Lee claimed throughout the first trial, which was conducted as a public participation trial, that she “was sexually assaulted by her husband, married her, and suffered from domestic violence for over 30 years.” However, the first trial court sentenced her to four years in prison based on the jury’s majority verdict, saying, “She does not appear to have suffered an act of violence on the day of her crime, which was around the time Ms. Lee murdered her husband.”
In the appeal trial, the prosecution requested the court to impose the same 10-year prison sentence as in the first trial, saying, “It is difficult to determine the facts because the dead cannot speak,” and “I hope you will closely examine the objective evidence revealed during the trial.”
In response, Mr. Lee’s lawyer said, “This case is an extreme example of hidden domestic violence in a wealthy family,” and pointed out, “The deceased victim abused Mr. Lee by habitually assaulting and cursing him.” “Mr. Lee was mentally and physically weak at the time of the crime due to continuous sexual abuse and assault from the deceased victim,” he said. “Please consider the fact that the crime was committed accidentally, the fact that Lee’s son wants leniency, and the fact that he is deeply reflecting on the crime.” “He appealed to the court for leniency.
Ms. Lee also said in her final statement that day, “It breaks my heart to think that her son will live a difficult life forever,” and “I didn’t know much about the world.” “She was wrong to commit this extreme crime,” she said.
The second trial decision was the same as the original trial: four years in prison. The second trial court said, “Regardless of the evaluation of the domestic violence committed by the victim, her husband, while he was alive, life is a value that must be absolutely protected,” and added, “Even if Ms. Lee is a victim of domestic violence, without finding a reasonable solution to the problem, life is a precious value.” “The crime of violating values is by no means light, so a prison sentence is inevitable,” the ruling ruled.
At the same time, he said, “It is difficult to conclude that Ms. Lee simply committed the crime accidentally, given that she tied up the victim, her husband, to prevent him from resisting and did not attempt to leave any traces of the crime,” and added, “The motive for the crime is also unclear because she did not suffer domestic violence at a different level than usual at the time.” “It does,” he pointed out.
In addition, “Mr. Lee has suffered physically and mentally from domestic violence, including all kinds of personal insults, assaults, and verbal abuse, while married for about 30 years, the fact that he committed the crime due to nervous depression, and the fact that he surrendered himself to the police immediately after the crime, “We took into account the fact that he was reflecting on his crime and the fact that the bereaved family was pleading for leniency,” he said in the reason for sentencing.
