Man in his 80s who stabbed wife over banchan scolding gets 2 years in prison

A man in his 80s who stabbed his wife in a rage after she nagged him to eat his banchan during dinner has been sentenced to two years in prison for attempted murder.

The 11th Criminal Division of the Uijeongbu District Court, presided over by Chief Judge Yang Cheol-han, sentenced the man, identified only as A, on Saturday after he was indicted on charges of attempted murder.

A was charged with attempting to kill his wife, B, 83, by stabbing her in the neck at their home in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, around midnight on March 9.

He stopped the attack when blood began flowing heavily from B's neck wound and called police himself. He also informed family members of what he had done. B received hospital treatment and has since recovered.

Investigators found that A had become upset when B, while the two were eating dinner together, scolded him for not eating his banchan. An argument followed, after which he carried out the attack. He had also been drinking makgeolli and soju at the time.

In court, A denied the charges, saying he had picked up the weapon only to frighten his wife, who he said interfered in his affairs too much, and had no intention of killing or injuring her.

The court rejected his argument.

In its reasoning, the court cited his use of an object capable of causing fatal injury, the fact that he directed the weapon at the victim's neck, and the presence of sufficient motive.

"The defendant can be seen as having recognized or foreseen, at least with contingent intent, the possibility or risk that the victim could die," Judge Yang said. "The culpability is very high, given that he attempted to kill someone who had been his spouse for many years."

However, the court said it took into account several mitigating factors in its sentencing: the attack did not result in death; A called emergency services himself, allowing B to receive prompt first aid; the crime appeared to have been committed on impulse; and B said she did not wish to see him punished.