Husband who poured boiling water on Thai wife gets sentence reduction on appeal

The Uijeongbu District Court reduced a Korean man’s prison sentence for pouring boiling water on his sleeping Thai wife at their home in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, on Dec. 3, 2025. At an appeal hearing on Oct. 22, the court sentenced him to three years, citing a settlement and the victim’s request for leniency. The man had initially claimed the water spilled accidentally but later admitted the charges.

The man was indicted and detained on charges of aggravated injury.

The settlement included payment of 15 million won to the victim.

A Seoul hospital specializing in burn treatment reported suspected abuse to police after treating the wife.

In June, the trial court imposed a three-and-a-half-year sentence, six months longer than the three-year term prosecutors had sought.

Published Oct 29, 2026 3:50 pm KST

A Thai woman who suffered burns across her face after her Korean husband poured boiling water on her receives treatment with her face wrapped in bandages. Captured from Facebook

A Korean man who was sentenced to three years and six months in prison for pouring boiling water on his sleeping Thai wife and causing severe burns has had his sentence reduced by six months on appeal.

According to legal sources on Wednesday, the Uijeongbu District Court's Criminal Division 1, presided over by Judge Jeong Do-young, overturned the lower court's ruling and sentenced the man in his 40s to three years in prison at an appeal hearing on Oct. 22. The man had been indicted and detained on charges of aggravated injury.

"The defendant reached a settlement with the victim under conditions including paying her 15 million won ($11,000), and the victim wishes the court to show leniency toward him," the appellate court said. "Considering all the sentencing factors presented during the proceedings, we find that the original sentence was too harsh and therefore unjust."

The man was indicted on charges of pouring water boiled in an electric kettle over the face and neck of his Thai wife, identified as B, while she was sleeping at their home in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, on Dec. 3, 2025, causing burns.

The case came to light after a specialized burn treatment hospital in Seoul that treated the wife reported suspected abuse to the police. At the time, her side claimed that the husband had said he "wanted to make her ugly so she wouldn't meet another man."

During police questioning, the man denied the allegations, claiming he had accidentally spilled the water when he fell. However, in court, he admitted to all the charges and pleaded for leniency.

In June this year, the trial court sentenced him to three years and six months in prison, a harsher penalty than the three-year term sought by prosecutors. The first-instance court cited "special aggravating factors" in determining the sentence.

With the reduction on appeal, the man will now serve the same prison term originally sought by prosecutors.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

2025年12月3日，一名韩国男子在京畿道议政府市的家中，将沸水泼向熟睡的泰国妻子。10月22日的上诉听证会上，法院以双方达成和解以及受害者请求从轻发落为由，判处该男子三年有期徒刑。该男子最初声称是意外泼水，但后来承认了指控。

该男子因涉嫌严重伤害罪被起诉并拘留。

和解协议包括向受害者支付1500万韩元。

首尔一家专门治疗烧伤的医院在治疗一名妻子后，向警方报告了疑似虐待事件。

6 月，审判法院判处三年半监禁，比检察官要求的三年刑期长了六个月。

发布于2026年10月29日下午3:50（韩国标准时间）

一名泰国女子被韩国丈夫用沸水烫伤面部，照片显示她面部缠着绷带接受治疗。图片来自Facebook。

一名韩国男子因向熟睡的泰国妻子身上泼开水导致其严重烧伤而被判处三年六个月监禁，上诉后刑期减免六个月。

据法律界人士周三透露，议政府地方法院刑事第一庭法官郑道英推翻了下级法院的判决，于10月22日的上诉听证会上判处这名40多岁的男子三年有期徒刑。该男子此前因涉嫌严重伤人罪被起诉并拘留。

上诉法院表示：“被告与受害人达成和解，条件包括支付受害人1500万韩元（约合1.1万美元）的赔偿金，受害人希望法院对被告从轻发落。考虑到审理过程中提出的所有量刑因素，我们认为原判过重，因此不公正。”

该男子被控于 2025 年 12 月 3 日在京畿道议政府市的家中，趁其泰国妻子 B 熟睡时，将电水壶中煮沸的水浇在她脸上和脖子上，导致她烧伤。

这起案件曝光源于首尔一家专门治疗烧伤的医院向警方举报了妻子疑似遭受虐待的情况。当时，妻子一方声称丈夫曾说过他“想把她弄丑，这样她就交不到别的男人了”。

在警方讯问期间，该男子否认了所有指控，声称自己摔倒时不小心洒了水。然而，在法庭上，他承认了所有指控，并请求法官从轻发落。

今年6月，一审法院判处他三年六个月有期徒刑，比检方寻求的三年刑期更为严厉。一审法院在量刑时援引了“特殊加重情节”。

上诉后刑期缩短，该男子将服刑与检方最初寻求的刑期相同。

本文来自《韩国日报》（《韩国时报》的姊妹报），由人工智能生成系统翻译，并由《韩国时报》编辑。