Actor Ryu Shi Won (41) for allegedly assaulting and threatening his wife, and illegally installing a location tracking program onto his wife's car was sentenced to 7 million won in fines.
In the morning of November 29, 2013, the sentence hearing for Ryu Shi Won took place in Seoul Central District Court in Seocho gu, Seoul. Judge Lee Jong Un admitted the arguments of the defendant that Ryo Shi Won had practiced threats of violence. However, taking into the consideration that this was Ryo Shi Won's first offense and that the damage was not great, Judge Lee Jong On dismissed the appeal of the prosecutor's office and accepted the decisions from the original trial, sentencing Ryo Shi Won to a 7 million won fine.
The court yesterday admitted that Ryu Shi Won had practiced physical abuse on his wife Cho. The court said in this regard, "Although there are not enough evidence on the problem of physical abuse submitted from Cho, but when we analyzed the recording of the voices Cho submitted, there is a part where Cho's voice rapidly shrinks," explaining the reasons for the sentencing. The court added in following, "The parts where the victim's voice rapidly shrinks when Ryu Shi Won accuses her, where there are sounds of flesh and flesh hitting, and where Ryu Shi Won says, 'Am I a laughing matter,' convinced us that Ryu Shi Won had physically assaulted Cho. Considering that the this was recorded in the early morning hours with an eight month old daughter in the house, the act of opposition against the accuser was difficult to imagine."
The court noted in particular largely the fault of Ryu Shi Won. The court said, " Ryu Shi Won only continues to appeal how unfair the situation is for him, but is not making any efforts to recover the damages done to his wife Cho and the family. He continues to argue that what he says to his wife Cho in the recording submitted by her is something that a couple could have said to each other, but what Ryu Shi Won said to the wife has given her a greater hurt than the physical assault." The court added in following, "Installing a GPS on Cho's car as a way of monitoring his wife in real time is an excuse that cannot be justified. There cant be a solution when Ryu Shi Won thinks that his problems are not a big deal. Trying to make amends to a couple's relationship in a court is not a real solution."
The court said to Ryu Shi Won, "Defendant as a husband and a father of a child should make a commitment to contemplate how much efforts he had made for the family. He would need a time of through self reflection."
The Prosecutor's Office previously in early November charged Ryu Shi Won with eight months in prison for assaulting, threatening, and illegally tracking the location of his wife. When Ryu Shi Won was charged with the 7 million won fine, the prosecutor's office argued that the charges were too light, saying, "The degree of physical and verbal abuse is not important. However, violating the law on tracking the location of another person is not a light crime," explaining the reasons why they charged Ryu Shi Won with eight months in prison. Ryu Shi Won's attorney then said in reply, "As a celebrity, being defamed with an assault case that the person did not commit is a very painful thing," denying the alleged assault.
Ryu Shi Won in his first trial held on September 10, 2013, was accused of and convicted for violence and intimidation against his wife Cho. The court in charge said, "There is no criminal penalties other than the 7 million won fine considering the degree of assault and threats, and the fact that Ryu Shi Won did not have any criminal history." Ryu Shi Won said after the trial, "I will fight until the end to uncover my innocence," and appealed in the afternoon of the same day. An official spokesman of Ryu Shi Won's agency said, "This is not a problem of the sentencing, but the fame. There has been no violence under any circumstances in his family." The prosecutor's office also submitted a claim three days after the trial, refuting the sentencing of the fines for Ryu Shi Won.
Meanwhile Ryu Shi Won met a then acquaintance Ms. Cho, a dancer, in 2010 with the introduction of a mutual friend, and married her after one year of dating. Three months after their daughter was born, but the couple did not maintain an amicable relationship and last April, after 20 months in to the marriage, the couple filed for divorce adjustment. The couple could not find a compromise in the divorce adjustment steps, and is currently undergoing a divorce case.
