A woman in her 60s who spread false claims that an oriental medicine doctor had killed her husband, after he died of a pre-existing illness following treatment at the doctor's clinic, was again fined on appeal.
The Jeonju District Court's first criminal division, presided over by Chief Judge Lee Young-eun, said on the 26th that it had dismissed the appeal by the defendant, identified only as A, a 67-year-old woman, and upheld the lower court's 4 million won ($2,900) fine. She had been indicted on charges of obstruction of business and defamation.
The case dates back to February 2023. A's husband visited an oriental medicine clinic run by a 51-year-old doctor, identified as B, in Iksan, Jeonbuk State, for treatment of symptoms including indigestion. He died about three months later.
After her husband's death, A went to the clinic in May of that year carrying a portable gas burner. She shouted at the doctor, "The doctor killed my husband," and created a disturbance.
She also put up a banner and handwritten posters in front of the clinic. They read, "How can someone die of indigestion? Bring my husband back to life."
A specifically claimed that B's prescription of buja, the root of the monkshood plant used in traditional medicine, was the direct cause of her husband's death. Buja is believed to restore vital energy and drive out cold from the body, but it is toxic and requires expert prescription.
The court, however, found that A's claims were not true. Taking into account the deceased's medical records and expert examination results, it concluded that the cause of death was his existing illness rather than the clinic's prescription.
The lower court said the medical examiner had determined the cause of death to be liver cirrhosis and liver failure. "Angiosarcoma was observed throughout the deceased's liver, and it was judged to have developed over a period of at least six months and up to seven years, so the sarcoma must be regarded as having existed before the visit to the clinic," the court said.
A appealed the first-ruling, but the appellate court reached the same conclusion.
"The defendant spread false information based on the premise that the victim lacked an understanding of the medicinal herb buja and prescribed the wrong medication, thereby damaging the victim's reputation," the appellate court said.
"There are circumstances surrounding how the defendant came to commit the offense that merit consideration, but that alone cannot justify it," the court said in dismissing the appeal.
