Korean actor found guilty for death of 80-year-old woman attacked by his dogs (Sabong News)
Author
Jonathan Hicap
Date
MARCH 24 2022
Korean actor Kim Min-kyo, best known for his appearance on “Saturday Night Live Korea,” has been found guilty of negligent manslaughter when an 80-year-old woman died after being attacked by his dogs.
Korean media reported on March 23 that the 47-year-old star was sentenced to eight months in prison suspended for two years on July 2, 2021.
The decision was handed down by the Seongnam Branch of the Suwon District Court in Gyeonggi Province in South Korea.
The incident happened on May 4, 2020. The 80-year-old woman was gardening in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province when she was attacked by the actor’s two dogs, which were reportedly Belgian sheepdogs.
The two dogs, without a leash, jumped over the fence and attacked the woman, who suffered bites in the leg and arms. She was rushed to the hospital for treatment. She died two months later on July 3, 2020.
In an episode of the Korean TV show “Oh Yeah” in July 2019, Kim Min-kyo became a guest showed his pet dogs including the Belgian sheepdogs.
In finding Kim Min-kyo guilty, the judge said, “The defendant violated the duty of care to manage the dog house, taking extra care not to harm people, even though the dog had had experience biting neighbors in the past. As a result, serious consequences eventually resulted in the death of a person, and the guilt is never light when considering the circumstances, methods, and degree of damage of the crime.”
However, the judge gave Kim Min-kyo a suspended sentence taking into account that he confessed and deeply reflected on the crime, that he had an amicable settlement with the victim’s family and that he entrusted the dog to a training center to prevent the incident from happening again.
