Wife forgives husband who tried to kill her

An appellate court on Tuesday overturned a lower court ruling on a man's attempted murder of his wife, based on the victim's wishes for the husband not to be punished.

The Daejeon High Court sentenced the 65-year-old defendant to four years in prison, overturning an earlier ruling that ordered a seven-year prison term.

The defendant was accused of stabbing his 61-year-old wife 10 times, with an intent to kill, at their home in Bangok-dong in Sejong at around 10:35 p.m. on July 18, last year. The incident occurred when the defendant got drunk and threatened to start a fire, after which the wife reported him to the police.

Infuriated, he attacked the victim, saying "You are done." The investigation found that the defendant had frequently caused scenes while drunk.

The defendant claimed that he had been drunk and had no intention to murder his wife, but the court rejected the claim. Both he and the prosecutors appealed the ruling, with the defendant saying the punishment was too harsh and the prosecution saying it was too lenient.

The victim, who initially did not forgive the suspect, notified the appellate court that she had forgiven him and no longer wanted the defendant to be punished. The court also took into consideration that he is set to go through treatment for alcohol addiction.

An attempted murder is a crime that can be punished by law regardless of whether the victim wants the perpetrator to be punished. But even in such cases, the legal punishment can be alleviated if the victim expresses their wish for the defendant not to be punished.

By Yoon Min-sik(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)