Seoul Central District Court ruled yesterday that a man`s children could not receive life insurance payments after his wife, who had killed him, transferred beneficiary rights to them.

The court ruled against a housewife who stabbed her husband with a kitchen knife during a physical conflict in their apartment in May last year, said court officials.



"She had the willful intention of killing or at least to injuring her husband, and thus inflicted harm on the insured person," said the court in its ruling, exempting the insurance companies from payment obligations.

The court also ruled that her stabbing her husband to death was excessive and may not be seen as legitimate self-defense.

The husband had carried out a violent attack on her, punching her in the face, holding her underwater in the bathtub and strangling her. The wife picked up a knife from the kitchen sink and urged him to stay away.

He attacked her again, upon which she stabbed her husband.

The husband was immediately taken to the hospital but died the following day.

The wife was indicted for injury resulting in death and was sentenced to three years in jail. She also lost the custody of her two children.

Being the beneficiary stated in her husband`s 150 million won ($126,000) life insurance, she transferred all of her rights to the children but the insurance companies refused payment, citing her responsibility for her husband`s death.

(tellme@heraldm.com)



By Bae Hyun-jung