Mother gets life insurance, not medical care, for dying son

A South Korean court has leveled a three-year prison term for a woman who did not provide medical care for her critically ill son and instead obtained life insurance subscriptions for him.

The defendant in her 60s was found guilty of death by abandonment by the Uijeongbu District Court, officials said Sunday, for the death of her son, whose age was unspecified, on Sept. 22, 2023.

The victim on Sept. 20 that year coughed up around 3 liters of blood, but the defendant did not take him to the hospital or call emergency services. She did, however, subscribe to two life insurance plans for the son with herself listed as the beneficiary on the very next day.

The victim's condition was reported to authorities by an acquaintance of the defendant. Police and rescue workers found the victim lying in front of the bathroom at their home, unable to move. He received emergency treatment at a local hospital, but died in the wee hours of Sept. 22.

The defendant received the payout from one of the insurance companies, but the other filed a criminal complaint against her in January 2024.

Police initially sought a charge of murder by gross negligence, but the prosecution changed the charge upon a supplementary investigation.

The defendant denied knowing about the son coughing up blood or being in critical condition, but the court rejected that claim, citing hospital records that showed severe bleeding had persisted from the previous day.

She claimed that she only told hospital staff what she heard from her husband, but he had only learned about their son's condition after he was taken to the emergency room. The husband suffers mobility issues due to paralysis.

"The defendant was effectively the only person able to save the victim, yet she abandoned him at home in critical condition. She also sought financial benefits, which makes her crime particularly severe," the court said in its ruling.

"Due to this crime against humanity, the irreversible result of the victim dying occurred. Yet the defendant is denying responsibility and is showing no remorse or sympathy for the victim."

The court did take into consideration that the defendant has been the main breadwinner of the family, nor that she has no prior criminal record other than fines.