
Lee Eun-hae covers her face with hands before attending a court hearing, April 19, 2022. Korea Times photo by Choi Ju-yeon
The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a life sentence for a woman on charges of murder in the high-profile drowning death of her husband in 2019 for a hefty life insurance payout.
Lee Eun-hae, 32, and her extramarital lover, Cho Hyun-soo, 31, were indicted for allegedly prodding the woman's then 39-year-old husband to jump into a deep valley river in Gapyeong, 50 kilometers northeast of Seoul, in late June 2019, even though he was unable to swim, and letting him drown.
Their motive was found to be an 800 million-won ($598,000) death benefit payable to Lee upon her husband's death.
The top court upheld a 30-year prison term for Cho accused of being an accessory in the crime.
The two were also convicted of attempting to kill the husband earlier in 2019 by poisoning him with puffer fish toxin and trying to drown him at a fishing place. (Yonhap)