Buddhist monk gets 1-year jail for beating wife in South Korea
Sign up now: Get insights on Asia's fast-moving developments
The defendant threatened the victim with a chair on Dec 20, 2024, striking her neck with his hands and grabbing her by the hair while he was drunk.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: UNSPLASH
SEOUL – A 66-year-old Buddhist monk has been sentenced to a year in prison for repeated violent outbursts against his common-law wife.
The Seoul Central District Court found him guilty of aggravated assault and intimidation.
He threatened her with a chair at their home on Dec 20, 2024, striking her neck with his hands and grabbing her by the hair while he was drunk.
The violence continued – at one point, he held two knives and threatened her.
It was found that he had been punished 39 times for assault and intimidation in the past, including a 14-month prison term in May 2005.
He was also sentenced to a suspended jail term for an assault against his wife, who pleaded for leniency.
“Despite being punished for the same crime dozens of times, (the defendant) made no efforts to improve his ways and inflicted repeated damage against the victim,” the court said.
The victim divorced him in 2022 but remained in a common-law marriage. While she also pleaded for leniency in this case, the court said a prison term is inevitable considering his history.
Some Buddhist sects in South Korea allow their monks to get married, but it has not been revealed which Buddhist order he is a member of. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
