19.9.2025
A South Korean man who drove his family into the sea in a suicide bid has been handed a life imprisonment sentence.
The court heard that Ji Mo, 49, intended to commit suicide with his 49-year-old wife and their two teenage songs on June 1, 2025, but after plunging the family car into the sea in Jindo, South Jeolla Province at about 1:12 a.m , he escaped through the driver’s window. He fled to Gwangju after the incident but was later arrested by the police.
Ji Mo and his wife had decided to commit suicide together due to financial hardship, with debts reaching $144,000. It was also found that Ji Mo, who worked as a construction site foreman, had failed to pay approximately $22,000 in wages to daily laborers under his supervision.
The Gwangju District Court’s Criminal Division 12 (Judge Park Jae-sung) on Friday September 19 handed down a life sentence to Ji Mo after being found guilty on charges of murder and aiding suicide.
The court stated, “The victimized sons likely could not have imagined, until their final moments, that their beloved parents would kill them,” and emphasized, “This is a grave crime that cannot be tolerated under any circumstances.”
Wreck of Korean family car recovered after suicide attempt.