Karaoke Studio Owner Sentenced to Prison for Leaving Collapsed Customer Unattended for 12 Hours in Midwinter, Resulting in Death

No Aid Provided Despite Seeing Collapsed Customer
Changwon District Court Sentences Karaoke Owner to 2 Years for Involuntary Manslaughter by Abandonment

The owner of a karaoke studio who left a customer unattended in thin clothing in the middle of winter, resulting in the customer's death, has been sentenced to prison.

According to Yonhap News on September 7, the Changwon District Court's Criminal Division 4 (Presiding Judge Oh Dae-seok) sentenced a karaoke studio owner in his 60s, referred to as Mr. A, to two years in prison for involuntary manslaughter by abandonment.

Changwon District Court Building Exterior

Mr. A was tried on charges of leaving a 63-year-old man, Mr. B, unattended between 10:24 p.m. and 10:51 p.m. on December 30, 2024. Mr. B was found collapsed between the entrance and the stairs leading to the basement level 1 karaoke studio operated by Mr. A in Uichang-gu, Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province. Mr. B subsequently died.

At the time, Mr. B, after drinking with acquaintances, visited the karaoke studio alone while intoxicated, rented a room, and bought a bottle of soju. It was found that he had briefly left the studio and then returned. On the day Mr. B collapsed, the minimum temperature was 0.8 degrees Celsius, and on the following day, it was 0.4 degrees Celsius. It was confirmed that Mr. B was wearing only a T-shirt and jeans without an outer garment.

Although Mr. A found Mr. B collapsed, he did not take any action such as reporting the situation to the police or emergency services. When other customers who visited the karaoke studio saw Mr. B and tried to leave, Mr. A said things like "Just ignore it," "It's fine," and "He’s a person who often sits like that drunk,” and continued his business without providing any assistance.

Mr. A did not report the situation to the police until 10:32 a.m. the following day, about 12 hours after noticing Mr. B collapsed. Mr. B was transported to the hospital but was pronounced dead in the emergency room due to head injuries. At the time of the incident, one customer testified to investigators that "Mr. A explained that Mr. B had fallen down the stairs because he was drunk."

During the trial, Mr. A denied the charges, stating, "I did not abandon Mr. B, and even if such an act is recognized, there is no causal relationship with the death."

The court did not accept this argument. The court explained, "Mr. A had an obligation to protect Mr. B as required under the Framework Act on Consumers and by contractual duty. It is reasonable to view that Mr. A abandoned Mr. B by neglecting him while aware that the victim needed help at the time." The court added, "Mr. B developed a slow-bleeding subdural hematoma in the head. Considering he may not have died immediately following the head injury and based on the forensic conclusion that it is difficult to rule out the possibility that the death resulted from abandonment, the causal relationship between the abandonment and death is sufficiently established."

Regarding the sentencing, the court stated, "It does not appear that Mr. A committed the crime with definite intent." The court explained, "Mr. B's direct cause of death was the head injury from falling on the stairs, and Mr. A's act of abandonment was not the direct and sole cause of death. Additionally, Mr. A had no prior criminal record and this was his first offense."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.