One killed, three injured in series of South Gyeongsang marital disputes
Published: 26 Aug. 2025, 14:54
![Smoke is seen coming from an apartment in Geoje, South Gyeongsang, on Aug. 25. [SOUTH GYEONGSANG FIRE HEADQUARTERS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/26/a04376fd-d384-43b3-9117-2d652fce04bd.jpg)
Smoke is seen coming from an apartment in Geoje, South Gyeongsang, on Aug. 25. [SOUTH GYEONGSANG FIRE HEADQUARTERS]
YANGSAN, South Gyeongsang — Four people were killed or injured in two separate domestic disputes in Yangsan and Geoje, South Gyeongsang, in which a man attacked his wife with a knife before taking his own life and a woman set fire to her home. Police have launched investigations into these separate incidents.
Around 12:15 a.m. Tuesday, a man in his 40s was found dead in the flower bed outside of an apartment complex in Mulgeum-eup, Yangsan, according to police and fire authorities. Two minutes earlier, the man had called the police emergency line, saying, “Please come to my house. Something has happened.”
At his apartment, officers discovered the man’s wife, a woman in her 30s, lying with multiple stab wounds. She was taken to a hospital but remains in critical condition.
Police suspect that the man stabbed his wife during an argument before jumping to his death. Investigators are questioning neighbors to determine the circumstances. No prior history of domestic violence reports involving the couple has been found.
About an hour earlier, another domestic dispute led to a fire in Geoje. At 10:58 p.m. Monday, firefighters received a report of a blaze at an apartment in Okpo-dong. They extinguished the flames by 11:34 p.m.
The couple living there — a man in his 50s and his wife, a woman in her 40s — suffered first- and second-degree burns on their backs and legs. They were transported to a hospital.
Fifty-three residents were evacuated, with 14 treated for smoke inhalation. Property damage, including the interior of the apartment and household goods, was estimated at 30 million won ($21,550).
Police believe that the wife set the fire after a quarrel, pouring gasoline in the living room and igniting it with a lighter. The husband testified that “after the fight, my wife poured cleaning gasoline in the living room and set it on fire.”
Police have named the wife a suspect in the second case of arson causing injury and plan to question her once she recovers.
![An apartment in Geoje, South Gyeongsang is burnt after a fire on Aug. 25. [SOUTH GYEONGSANG FIRE HEADQUARTERS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/08/26/e921cf0d-0683-4c4d-b054-1ab600be9d34.jpg)
An apartment in Geoje, South Gyeongsang is burnt after a fire on Aug. 25. [SOUTH GYEONGSANG FIRE HEADQUARTERS]
“We are investigating the cause of the quarrel, the reason gasoline was stored at the residence, and whether there is a history of domestic violence reports,” a police official said.
The cases follow yet another recent incident in which a 59-year-old man was sentenced to a lengthy prison term for fatally stabbing his wife amid divorce proceedings.
Last Thursday, the Changwon District Court sentenced him to 22 years in prison for murder.
The man was indicted for stabbing his wife multiple times during an argument in their home in Changwon's Uichang District last March. He suspected her of infidelity, and the couple was undergoing divorce proceedings.
After the death, the man called the police to report that he had killed his wife then jumped from the third floor of the residence. He suffered a fractured pelvis and other injuries but survived.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY AN DAE-HUN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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