A. The Defendant is the husband of the deceased D (hereinafter referred to as the “Death”) and has a child between the Defendant and the Deceased, who is the Plaintiff and the Plaintiff’s birth.

B. On July 1, 2013, the Defendant was indicted on the charge of the crime of injury resulting in the death of the deceased due to light-to-faceing, flaging, selling, and distribution of the body of the deceased on the part of the deceased, and on July 2, 2013, the Defendant was sentenced to five years of imprisonment on the charge of the crime of injury resulting in the death of the deceased, on the part of the deceased, by means of an anonymous mail with the content that the deceased had an inappropriate relationship with another male.

[Judgment of the court of first instance: Changwon District Court Decision 2013Gohap92 decided January 24, 2014; the appellate court: Busan High Court Decision 2014No45 decided June 11, 2014; Supreme Court Decision 2014Do8264 Decided August 11, 2014; Supreme Court Decision 2014Do8264 Decided August 11, 2014] / [Grounds for recognition] Party 1, 2, 3, 5, 17, 18, 19 evidence (including additional numbers) 1, Eul evidence 1, and the purport of the entire pleadings

2. Determination

A. According to the facts as seen earlier, prior to the determination on the cause of the claim, the Defendant is liable to compensate the Plaintiff for damages caused by the death of the deceased, i.e., lost income of the deceased, lost retirement allowances, and consolation money due to the Plaintiff’s mental distress, barring any special circumstance. (ii) The Defendant filed the instant lawsuit on March 6, 2017, which was three years after the date on which the Plaintiff became aware of the Defendant’s tort, and thus, the Plaintiff’s claim for damages against the Defendant was extinguished by prescription in accordance with Article 766(1) of the Civil Act, barring special circumstances.

On the other hand, Article 766(1) of the Civil Code provides that "a claim for damages caused by a tort shall be extinguished by prescription if it is not exercised for three years from the date when the injured party or his legal representative becomes aware of the damages and of the identity of the perpetrator."