Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Real Reality]

Drug Addict 'Blinds Own Family for Insurance'
Police have arrested a women in her 20s who went on a grotesque crime spree to obtain money for drugs, including blinding two husbands, her mother and older brother to collect insurance worth W590 million (about US$594,000). The former insurance sales woman identified by her surname Eom, 28, suffered from serious depression and became addicted to narcotics after her daughter died of a head injury in February 2000, police said Thursday. She took out insurance in the name of her husband in March that year. Two months later, Eom made him take sleeping pills and when he was unconscious pierced his right eye with a pin, they said.

At the end of 2002, Eom pierced the eye of her second husband and again collected on the insurance. She did the same to her mother in July 2003, and then pierced both her older brother's eyes in November that year, police said. In January this year Eom set fire to the house where she, her mother, older brother and younger brother lived together.

Eom is also suspected of setting fire to the house she rented and injuring three family members of the landlady identified as Kang. Although her family had been suspicious of successive grotesque accidents in the family, they were reluctant to credit Eom with the attacks, police said. Police asked psychologists to check Eom's mental state.
Chosun Ilbo (April 28, 2005)
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200504/200504280029.html

[Keepongoing]

i think someone turned a blind-eye to the incidents

[Real Reality]

Drug addict blinds mother, kills members of family for insurance
A female drug addict was arrested yesterday for a series of brutal crimes that included blinding her mother and other family members, killing three people and setting fire to houses to collect insurance payments to buy dope.

A former insurance salesperson, she led the insurance company to believe her husband was mentally deranged and said he had injured himself after drinking. Later, she stabbed her husband in the stomach and poured boiling oil on his face during medical treatment for his eyes, killing him and collecting 289 million won insurance for his death.

Family members began to suspect the woman of being behind the deaths and fire but did not report her to police.

The bizarre crimes continued into this year as the woman set her housekeeper's house on fire, killing one person and injuring four. She also blinded a woman at the hospital where her son was being treated for an incurable illness, stole the woman's credit card and used it to buy 9 million won of drugs and 5 million won to pay off her son's hospital fees. The son died shortly afterwards.

Police began investigating the woman last February after suspecting her of setting fire to the housekeeper's house.
By Shin Hae-in, The Korea Herald (April 29, 2005)
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/04/29/200504290006.asp

[Swiss James]

where did she get drugs from?

[squat toilet]

[Gwangjuboy]

I agree with the above. Remember the mentally ill man who burned more than 200 people alive in the Daegu subway fire? The Korean newspapers really emphasised the act that he was mentally ill. I can't believe this woman could get away with these crimes for so long.

[fidel]

When I read this in today's paper the first thing I thought was how could she possibly get away with it that long. Surely people noticed that everyone around her had been poked in the eye with needles and randomly blinded, as well as burnt in fires, or had boiling water thrown over them except her? Obviously how the newspaper portrays these incidents and reality are in no way connected, however we are in Korea so.....

[VC]

It seems to me that Korean insurance companies are naive and easily deceived. And where were the police when all these people were being blinded and killed? Don't they investigate when somebody dies under suspicious circumstances such as being stabbed to death? Why did it take a fire to finally get the police involved?

[The Man known as The Man]

sparkx, she's overdue for her being stoned to death.

[Pyongshin Sangja]

Korean women are so wonderful.

[Zed]

So she stabs her husband and pours boiling oil on his head killing him and goes on to collect $289 million won. No one catches on to this?

She blinds a woman who works in a hospital, steals and uses her credit card, and no one catches on?

What tipped them off? At what point did they go .... aahhhhhhh!!?

[Pyongshin Sangja]

The question you should be asking is: at what point should the family be found guilty of aiding a criminal through their silence? They should all go to jail for a long time. Likely? Ha.