Civil servant arrested for killing wife who fled domestic abuse, despite her smartwatch distress call

A civil servant in his 30s has been arrested for tracking down his wife, who had fled domestic abuse to a new address, and stabbing her to death. He reportedly told police he harbored a grudge after receiving divorce papers, believing the proceedings would go against him on alimony, asset division and child custody.

The Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province Police Station said Tuesday it had detained the suspect, identified only as A, on murder charges and was questioning him. Police plan to seek an arrest warrant as soon as the investigation is complete.

A is accused of stabbing his wife, identified as B, on a stairwell of a multi-unit residential building in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, at around 7:17 a.m. Tuesday.

Investigators determined that A had found B's current address listed in the divorce filing and gone there himself. He then waited on the stairwell at the time he expected her to leave for work before carrying out the attack.

B had earlier taken refuge at a relative's home in Gwangju to escape her husband's violence.

After being stabbed, B used a smartwatch she had been issued to make an emergency call to police. She was taken to a hospital but died. A young child who was present at the scene also sustained minor cuts to a finger.

A told investigators that he "harbored a grudge after recently receiving divorce papers, believing the overall outcome — including alimony, asset division, and child custody and support — would be unfavorable to him," according to police.

Police are closely examining whether A planned the attack in advance, based on evidence that he had identified the victim's address and expected departure time before the assault.

A prior record of domestic violence reports involving A was also confirmed. Four domestic violence complaints were filed against him from March last year through recently, and he was referred to prosecutors in June on related charges.

The case is expected to raise questions about whether victim protection measures were sufficient to prevent the killing, given that B had relocated to escape domestic abuse and had even been issued a smartwatch — yet was still murdered.

Police have been strengthening victim protection systems in response to repeat relationship-based crimes such as stalking and dating violence. In June, the Korean National Police Agency established a dedicated crime victim protection division and has been operating measures including private security support, installation of intelligent closed-circuit television cameras and the provision of emergency smartwatches.

Police plan to conduct further questioning of A to determine when he obtained the weapon and how he tracked the victim's movements.