He Texted Her Family for 11 Months While Her Body Sat in a Kimchi Refrigerator

The Kimchi Refrigerator Stayed Plugged In

That kimchi refrigerator never lost power.

In Korea, a kimchi refrigerator is as common as a regular one. It keeps a cellar’s cold, holds temperature and humidity steady, and stores kimchi, vegetables, fruit, meat, even alcohol. Families put one in the kitchen, fill it with kimchi in winter, use it for leftovers the rest of the year. It slows time. It keeps food from changing.

The one in Mr. A’s home held no food.

In October 2024, Mr. A, 41, killed his girlfriend, Ms. B, 40s, at a villa in Jochon-dong, Gunsan, Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province. They had dated about four years. He put her body in the kimchi refrigerator. It stayed there about 11 months.

The refrigerator ran the whole time. Temperature steady. Humidity steady. The body did not decompose as it would have. The smell did not escape. A kimchi refrigerator does not know what it holds.

Ms. B did not vanish all at once. Her phone stayed on. Mr. A used it to text her family. The messages made her sound alive. Her family wrote back. They got answers.

They could not get her on the phone.

Ms. B’s younger sister could only reach her through a messaging app. She sent messages. Replies came. She called. No answer. She called again. Still no answer. The texts kept coming. The calls never connected. In September 2025, the sister went to the police.

Police found the body at Mr. A’s home. Mr. A admitted to the killing and the rest.

For 11 months, he also borrowed money in Ms. B’s name. About 88 million won. He spent it on living costs. Her identity still worked in the banking system. Her phone number, passwords, and authentication codes let a dead woman take out loans and spend. Mr. A lived on that money. Ms. B was in the refrigerator and in the bank account at the same time.

Prosecutors charged him and asked for life in prison. They told the court the murder was intolerable. They said he betrayed a four-year relationship, hid the body, and kept using her identity. He deserved severe punishment.

The victim’s family refused his offer of 15 million won. They filed a petition asking for a heavy sentence. In court, family members raised their voices.

In January 2026, the first court sentenced Mr. A to 30 years. The appeals court upheld the sentence in May 2026. Mr. A appealed to the Supreme Court. The court dismissed the appeal. The 30-year sentence stands.

The court said he needed a heavy sentence and long isolation from society.

30 years.

From October 2024 to September 2025, about 11 months. The kimchi refrigerator door did not open to the outside. Mr. A lived in the villa. He used Ms. B’s loans. He used Ms. B’s phone. He kept her alive in text. Her family sent messages and waited for calls. Her sister dialed and heard the line ring out.

Then police opened the refrigerator.

In court, the numbers were read out: four years together, 11 months hidden, 88 million won borrowed, 15 million won refused, 30 years at first instance, upheld on appeal, dismissed by the Supreme Court.

A kimchi refrigerator is built to preserve food and slow time. Mr. A used that slowness. But a refrigerator cannot hide a body forever. A text cannot replace a voice. The calls failed. The sister reported it. Police came. The door opened.

Mr. A will serve 30 years. Ms. B’s family refused the 15 million won. They took none of it.

The kimchi refrigerator had always been plugged in.