Husband slashes wife with Japanese knife in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 2021

 On September 3, 2021, at around 2:00 pm, a murder occurred in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. The victim was the wife of the perpetrator, who was preparing for a divorce due to domestic violence, when he killed her with a one-meter Japanese sword, also known as a katana.

According to the victim's friend, who posted the incident on Natefan at 11 a.m. on September 6, the background of the case dates back to 2016, when the victim had an affair with the perpetrator's close friend, leading to serious marital problems. The victim also secretly borrowed money from the perpetrator to make investments, resulting in financial losses and a deteriorating relationship. 

In May 2021, the victim could no longer tolerate the situation and fled with her children, leaving all of their possessions behind. After she left, the perpetrator cut off her access to her funds by suspending her credit cards. The victim was later able to find a new job, but continued to struggle financially as she used her earnings to support her children's education and living expenses while saving money for the divorce proceedings.

Despite being re-employed, the victim was still struggling financially, and she and her father returned to the perpetrator's home to retrieve some of their belongings. However, when they arrived, the door code had been changed, so the victim contacted the perpetrator, who let them in. Just two or three minutes after entering the home, the incident occurred.

At first, the wife tried to enter the code she knew, but the door wouldn't open because the code had been changed. She then called her husband and asked him for the code, but he refused to tell her and instead told her to wait until he arrived. The wife and father waited outside the door for an hour until her husband arrived and opened the door. The perpetrator, the husband, had previously intentionally changed the house password after telling his wife to come get some clothes, and when she asked for it, he told her to go to the hospital and wait.

While the father was packing in the younger child's room, the husband demanded a divorce from his wife, who was packing in the older child's room. She told him that a court date had already been set, to which he replied, "Then die." With that, he came out of the bedroom with a dagger, forcing her to run away from him. The victim's father (i.e., the perpetrator's father-in-law) tried to stop him, but it was too late because he had already stabbed his wife. He kept crying because of the guilt of not being able to protect his child.

As she came down the stairs carrying her bleeding daughter, the father asked her if there was anything she wanted to say because he had already reported the incident to the police and knew he couldn't save her. The victim's last words were "What about my kids......".

Naturally, the family and the public were outraged, with many calling for the death penalty. The perpetrator, Mr. Zhang, was not only a murderer, but also an inhuman person who showed no remorse and even insulted his father-in-law in court for not stopping him. The fact that he was able to commit domestic violence without any consequences has also drawn criticism and calls for more effective measures against domestic violence.

The arrest

On September 5, two days after the incident, the Seoul Southern District Court issued an arrest warrant for the perpetrator, Mr. Jang Mo, citing evidence tampering and possible escape. The following day, September 6, Mr. Jang was arrested and detained. On September 10, Mr. Jang was transferred to the prosecution.#On October 1, Mr. Jang was indicted and remains in custody.

The trial

On February 16, 2022, the trial court sentenced defendant Zhang Mo to 20 years in prison. On September 20, at the second trial, the defendant's appeal was rejected, and the original 20-year sentence was confirmed. On December 29, the third court rejected Mr. Zhang's appeal, and the original 20-year sentence was confirmed.