Siblings Who Killed Grandmother Over Welfare Benefits Sentenced to 12 Years

Siblings, a grandson and his sister, were sentenced to 12 years in prison on appeal for killing their grandmother to obtain welfare benefits. The Busan District Court sentenced them to the same term as the first trial, acknowledging the charge that they murdered the grandmother in her 70s during the Lunar New Year holiday two years ago. The siblings, who were each sentenced to 15 years in prison on August 30, 2024, had their sentences adjusted on appeal. Mr. A was previously sentenced to 12 years in an earlier appeal proceeding, and on March 13, 2025, the appellate court bench also sentenced Ms. B to 12 years in prison, overturning the original verdict.

Starting around October 2023, the siblings exchanged remarks expressing hope that their grandmother would die and discussed methods of killing her. Ms. B encouraged the crime, telling her younger brother that she would increase his allowance by more than double if the grandmother passed away. Ms. C, the grandmother, had controlled the expenses of her grandson Mr. A, who has a disability; she made him save on lunch expenses by bringing a packed meal and limited his weekly allowance to 50,000 won.

On the night of February 9, 2024, an incident occurred where Ms. C (then 79 years old) was found dead at a residence in Nam-gu, Busan.