[Herald DB]
[Herald DB]

A man in his 70s who poured paint thinner on his wife and set her on fire during a domestic argument, killing her, was sentenced to a lengthy prison term Friday.

The 11th Criminal Division of the Seoul Northern District Court sentenced Choi, 75, to 16 years in prison on murder charges. The court rejected a separate prosecution request to attach an electronic monitoring anklet.

Choi was indicted after pouring thinner stored in a room onto his wife during an argument in the living room of their home last year, then igniting it with a lighter. The victim suffered burns across her entire body and died from systemic sepsis while undergoing treatment.

The court rejected Choi's claim that he had also poured thinner on himself and intended to die alongside his wife. "The amount of thinner detected on the defendant was minimal, and his daughter and acquaintances who met him immediately after the incident said they did not smell thinner on him," the court said.

The court also noted the severity of the crime. "The method of killing was extremely cruel, and the victim appears to have suffered intense pain until her death," it said. The court added that Choi had not called emergency services or administered first aid after the attack, instead summoning an acquaintance to discuss what to do — behavior it described as difficult to understand.

However, the court said it took into account several mitigating factors: that the crime appeared to be impulsive rather than premeditated, that Choi himself extinguished the fire, and that he is elderly.

At the final hearing last month, prosecutors had asked the court to sentence Choi to 20 years in prison and order 30 years of electronic monitoring.

Choi's defense acknowledged the facts of the crime but argued that he had been heavily intoxicated at the time, had long been receiving treatment for panic disorder, and had acted impulsively after prolonged marital conflict.

In his final statement, Choi appealed for leniency, saying, "I will spend the rest of my life seeking my wife's forgiveness and living with a sense of repentance."


bbo@heraldcorp.com