Seoul Southern District Court hands down 2-year sentence

[Herald DB]
[Herald DB]

A man who sent his wife, who has an intellectual disability, to work at a hostess bar to earn living expenses has been sentenced to prison in a first-instance ruling. The wife was raped at the establishment on multiple occasions and underwent an abortion as a result.

According to legal sources, Judge Song Han-do of the Seoul Southern District Court's Criminal Division 8 sentenced Kim, 26, to two years in prison on Wednesday on charges of violating the Act on Welfare of Persons with Disabilities and the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Domestic Violence Crimes. The court also barred him from working at institutions for people with disabilities for five years.

Kim is accused of sending his wife, who has an intellectual disability, to work at a hostess bar starting in 2024, telling her — citing financial hardship — "You like singing, so why not try working as a hostess?"

Over roughly eight months at the establishment, the victim was raped four times and subsequently had an abortion.

The court found Kim guilty of neglect and unlawful exploitation for financial gain.

However, records showed that Kim had taken his wife to a psychiatric hospital on multiple occasions, leading the court to acquit him on some counts of violating the welfare act related to emotional abuse.

"The nature of the crime is grave — he sent a spouse with diminished cognitive capacity to a hostess bar on the grounds of financial hardship," the court said. "The victim was raped multiple times in the process, yet the defendant, knowing this, did not seek employment himself."

The court added that it considered in its sentencing that Kim had no prior criminal record, that he has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and that mounting debt had led him to commit the offense.


jshan@heraldcorp.com