A husband may face a criminal charge after he abandoned his wife along the expressway at midnight after an argument.

The wife was found dead the next morning, about 700 meters from where she was left behind. The severity of her injuries suggested she had been hit by a car.

Police are now reviewing the case to see if the husband could be charged with “death by abandonment,” which is punished by imprisonment of at least three years in South Korea. Should he be criminally charged? 

Here’s what happened

The incident occurred on a rainy night Dec. 8 on the expressway near Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. Near midnight, a taxi driver reported to the Korea Expressway Corp. about a woman who had been left alone at a rest area.

According to his statement made later to police, the couple, whom he picked up in Seoul, fought all along the way, and by the time the car was approaching a rest area near Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, the couple asked to stop the car and exited. The woman was heavily intoxicated. After some time, only the man returned, asking the taxi to take off. The driver dropped him off at his destination and called the highway operator out of concern for her.

The Korea Expressway sent a team to check the rest area, but did not find her. They did not take the case seriously, and made no effort to search further.

The deceased’s family members want the husband to be punished. They say the wife did not even have a phone with her when she was left behind.