Mother Jailed for 3 Years for Abandoning Son Vomiting Blood and Taking Out Life Insurance

Took out two insurance policies the day before her son with liver disease died
Insurer that "refused to pay benefits" filed a police complaint

A mother who left her son unattended while he was vomiting blood and unable to move, causing his death, and then collected death benefits under insurance policies she had taken out the day before he died was sentenced to prison.

According to Yonhap News and legal circles on November 1, the 11th Criminal Division of the Uijeongbu District Court, presided over by Judge Yang Cheol-han, sentenced the woman in her 60s, identified as A, to three years in prison. She had been indicted on charges including abandonment causing death and fraud.

Exterior view of Uijeongbu District Court.

At around 10 p.m. on September 20, 2023, A's son, identified as B, vomited a large amount of blood at their home in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province. B, who had a chronic liver condition, vomited about 3 liters of blood over five or six episodes and was unable to move easily. However, A took no action, such as calling 119 or taking her son to a hospital.

A, who had worked as an insurance agent for about 25 years, took out two insurance policies the following day that would pay benefits upon her son's death. The policies provided for payments of up to KRW 50 million and KRW 200 million, respectively, if B died of an illness. A named her son as the insured and herself as the policyholder and beneficiary of the death benefits. She signed the sections requiring the insured's consent on the insurance applications herself, without her son's authorization.

B's critical condition came to light that night after one of A's acquaintances called 112 and reported that "an acquaintance's son vomited blood last night, but she hasn't taken him to the hospital." Police officers and paramedics who arrived at the home found B lying in front of the bathroom. He was conscious and had a pulse and was breathing, but was unable to move. B received emergency treatment as he was taken to a hospital, but died in the early hours of September 22 from hypovolemic shock and hematemesis.

After her son died, A filed claims with the insurers, submitting documents including his death certificate. The insurer that received a claim for KRW 200 million in death benefits refused to pay, questioning the policy details and the circumstances of his death. Another life insurer, however, paid A about KRW 25 million a month later.

In January 2024, the insurer that had refused to pay the benefits filed a complaint against A with the police. After investigating for more than a year, police referred A to prosecutors on suspicion of murder with dolus eventualis. Following a supplementary investigation, the Prosecution Service indicted her on a charge of abandonment causing death instead of murder.

During the trial, A denied the charges, saying, "I didn't see my son vomiting blood myself, and I didn't know that there was an imminent danger to his life or physical well-being." She also claimed there was no problem with her insurance claims, arguing that she met her son on the day she took out the policies and obtained his signature on the insurance applications in person.

The court rejected these claims after considering the caller's statement, the hospital's medical records, and the medical staff's opinions. The hospital records stated that B had started vomiting blood the previous night, and that there was so much blood—more than three basinfuls—that it had soaked the floor.

A claimed that she had merely relayed to the medical staff what she had heard from her husband. However, her husband testified that A told him about the vomiting only after their son had been taken to the emergency room. At the time, her husband was paralyzed from the waist down and had difficulty moving around even inside the home.

The court also rejected A's claim that her son had signed the insurance applications. Medical staff told investigators that after vomiting a large amount of blood, B would have gradually become so weak that he could no longer move.

The court said, "The defendant was effectively the victim's only caregiver, yet she abandoned him at home despite his serious condition and even tried to take advantage of the situation for financial gain. Her culpability is therefore extremely grave." It added, "This inhumane crime resulted in the irreversible death of the victim. The defendant denies the crime, and there is no sign of compassion for the victim or remorse." The court said severe punishment was unavoidable.

Explaining its sentencing decision, the court said it had considered in A's favor that "the crime, which was motivated by the prospect of KRW 200 million in insurance benefits, was unsuccessful; that she appears to have supported the livelihood of her family, including the victim; and that she has no prior record of receiving a sentence more severe than a fine." Both the Prosecution Service and A appealed the first-instance ruling.

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