Ryu Shi Won Found Guilty of Assaulting and Threatening Wife

Actor Ryu Shi Won was found guilty on September 10 of assaulting and threatening his wife and was sentenced a fine of 7 million KRW (~6500USD).

Seoul Central District court took into consideration the defendant’s relationship to the plaintiff, the degree of assault and threats, how long and how often the defendant tracked his wife.

Judge Lee Sung Yong stated, “In the recorded CDs that the wife submitted, it sounded like ‘skin touching skin’ at the moments coinciding with the assault, and it seems that it was a slight assault on the cheek.”

Regarding the threats, the judge stated, “It is admissible that at the time when the tracking device was discovered, [the defendant] lashed out and claimed he will employ people to monitor his wife during their verbal argument. Although the possibility of that actually happening was unlikely, given the situation, the victim would have felt fear.”

In regards to Ryu Shi Won tracking his wife, the judge stated, “Even if he is her husband, the situation was not urgent enough to warrant placing a tracking device on his wife’s car and mobile phone.”

Ryu Shi Won’s side stated that they will seek appeal.

According to the prosecutors, in May of 2011 Ryu Shi Won attached a GPS tracking device to his wife’s Mercedes-Benz and collected information on her goings and whereabouts for approximately eight months. When in August of that year his wife confronted him about the GPS tracker, the actor responded, “Are you kidding me? I’ll kill you.” He then hit her face with his hands. He threatened, “I know a lot of bad people. Where ever you go, whatever you do, I can get take a picture of it. I am a scary man.” A month later Ryu Shi Won attached another tracking device on his wife’s cellphone, to gather more information on her locations. 

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