Civil servant faces child abuse charge after stabbing wife to death in front of 5-year-old daughter

A man in his 30s who stabbed his wife to death in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province while divorce proceedings were underway has had a child abuse charge added against him.

According to the Gwangju Police Station in Gyeonggi Province, officers conducted an autopsy on the victim Thursday and applied for an arrest warrant against the husband on charges of murder and violation of the Child Welfare Act, as police continue to investigate the exact circumstances of the case.

At around 7:17 a.m. Tuesday, A, a civil servant, stabbed his wife — a woman in her 30s identified as B — more than 20 times with a knife on an outdoor staircase of a multifamily housing complex in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, then fled on a motorcycle. He was arrested about four hours and 20 minutes later, at around 11:40 a.m., at a motel in Jangan-gu, Suwon.

At the time of his arrest, A was reportedly attempting to take his own life.

During the attack, B used a smartwatch — provided by police after she had previously reported domestic violence — to call for emergency help, but she was stabbed more than 20 times across her body before officers could reach her. She was rushed to a hospital but died from her injuries.

The couple's 5-year-old daughter was present at the scene. The child is currently under the care of relevant authorities.

Police seized two 30-centimeter knives at the scene that were used in the attack.

Investigators found that B had reported domestic violence to police and sought counseling on five separate occasions from March last year through the period leading up to the attack.

The Suwon Jangan Police Station, which had jurisdiction over B's residence at the time, conducted its own investigation in May and referred A to prosecutors on domestic violence charges.

B subsequently moved out of the family home with her daughter and had been living at a multifamily housing complex in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province. She filed for divorce last month and had also obtained a temporary protection order — including a no-contact provision — from a court.

B had consulted police after expressing concern that her address may have been exposed during the delivery of divorce court documents, and was issued the smartwatch as a result.

Police believe A confirmed B's address from the court documents and deliberately sought her out before carrying out the attack.

If you're thinking about self-harm or suicide, dial the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 109, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Please request a translator for English-language services.