Man in 50s Given Suspended Sentence for Exhuming Grave, Citing Past Bullying

A man in his 50s who dug up the burial mound of a person interred at the National Cemetery has received a suspended prison sentence in his first trial. Kang, 50, who was indicted for damaging the grave of the late hanbok designer Lee Young-hee last November, was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for one year, at the Seoul Central District Court on the 14th. The incident occurred on November 28 last year at the grave of the late Lee Young-hee at the National Cemetery in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, where Kang dug up and damaged the sod atop the burial mound.

Police at the scene deemed Kang to be mentally unstable and took measures to admit him to a psychiatric hospital for emergency care. Kang stated during questioning that he visited the grave to meet the family, claiming he had been subjected to unfair treatment and workplace bullying by the deceased.

The court noted that the defendant's responsibility was not light, considering the relationship between the defendant and the deceased, the extent of the damage, the motive and method of the crime, and the fact that he was not forgiven by the bereaved family. However, the court took into consideration that the crime was limited to removing part of the grave and did not affect the remains, that it was his first offense, and that his history of mental illness at the time of the incident had an influence. The court did not accept Kang's claim that his actions constituted property damage rather than grave exhumation.