MBC
Paraquat. This term may not mean much to you, yet it refers to an herbicide marketed from 1961 onward and widely used in European agriculture, including in France until 2007. Also known as Gramoxone, it is considered highly lethal due to its extreme toxicity and was banned in South Korea in 2011. This very herbicide would later become the central element in a series of family homicides committed by a mother between 2011 and 2014.
In May 2011, a man identified as KIM was found dead in his home in Pocheon. Police initially classified the death as a suicide by poisoning. He was believed to have consumed a beverage taken from his refrigerator and died shortly afterward. He left behind a wife and a young daughter, both deeply shaken by his sudden death. The grieving family eventually tried to move on, and the woman remarried the following year, in March, to a man named LEE. However, only a few months later, in January 2013, the mother-in-law died, her death attributed to pulmonary complications following a suspected case of pneumonia.
Next came the death of the second husband, once again due to lung problems, in August. And finally, there was one last victim: the daughter from the first marriage. Against all expectations, she survived, though she was left with severe and permanent pulmonary damage. At that point, insurance companies began taking a closer look at the case of NOH, the mother. One body was exhumed, the other two having been cremated, and paraquat was detected.
« It’s almost a relief that I was caught now, I can finally stop » – NOH
This herbicide is known for its extremely high comorbidity rate, even after minimal exposure, and for causing long-term chronic illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease. Documented effects include oxidative chemical burns, damage to pneumocytes (epithelial cells lining the pulmonary alveoli), increased plasma concentration, collapse of antioxidant systems, and apoptosis (programmed cell death) leading to necrosis. Depending on the dose absorbed, death may occur within hours or after several weeks, especially in cases of repeated low-level ingestion. Pulmonary damage is typically described in three phases:
- Acute phase: first week
- Subacute phase: first month
- Chronic phase: beyond one month
In some cases, the toxin is potent enough to affect the kidneys and liver as well. However, in the vast majority of cases, forensic physicians do not initially investigate herbicide poisoning, as it is considered too rare, particularly when pulmonary lesions appear. In other words, it is an effective method for concealing intentional homicides and making them appear as natural deaths. Suspicion quickly turned toward NOH, then in her forties (her identity initially anonymized by police), as all the deaths revolved around her.
«We believe she killed the victims because of conflicts or to earn death benefits [insurance]» – Police officer
When the media picked up the case, it was linked to other paraquat poisoning incidents that had ultimately led to the herbicide’s ban in South Korea. At the time, KIM’s alleged suicide raised no alarms, as even his sister testified that he was heavily in debt, despite having received a large inheritance following their parents’ deaths. An examination of insurance payouts revealed that NOH received 450 million won for KIM’s death, slightly over $400,000. However, the insurance beneficiary was not the wife but the deceased’s daughter, who was a minor and therefore unable to access the funds.
After remarrying LEE, the blended family welcomed a baby boy, who also became the beneficiary of his father’s life insurance, amounting to 530 million won (approximately $360,000). As for the daughter, whose prolonged poisoning resulted in chronic health complications, NOH received an additional 7 million won (about $4,700). NOH later admitted that her goal had not been to kill her daughter, but to secure regular insurance payments as a supplementary source of income, since she controlled her children’s finances until they reached adulthood.
NOH was arrested in February 2015 at the age of 44 on charges of murder, attempted murder (against her daughter), and insurance fraud. Toxicological analyses were conducted using a dithionite colorimetric test, which turns blue in the presence of paraquat, as well as chromatographic testing of post-mortem blood and tissue samples. These tests confirmed the presence of the herbicide, and NOH was initially sentenced to ten years in prison along with electronic monitoring. During the trial, prosecutors emphasized her financial motives and purchases made with insurance money, including a bicycle worth over $10,000, vehicles, and repeated ski vacations.
“While cooking soup, I added small amounts of pesticide and fed it to my husband. He grew weaker and weaker, and eventually died” — NOH
NOH offered little justification for her actions, except regarding her second mother-in-law, whom she described as deeply contemptuous toward her and her children. Rather than repeating the same method used on her first husband KIM, she added the herbicide to food consumed daily by LEE, his mother, and her daughter. Her daughter was hospitalized three times, in July and August 2014 and January 2015, shortly before NOH’s arrest. NOH also admitted attempting to poison her first mother-in-law, who reportedly became suspicious and avoided further consumption. What ultimately incriminated her was the presence of paraquat in her home, despite the herbicide having been banned in South Korea for several years, suggesting the possible involvement of an accomplice, though this was never proven.
The Namyangju police station, which handled the case, identified four decisive factors in NOH’s arrest: suspicions raised by relatives (notably the first mother-in-law), insurance company reports, persistent police investigation, and toxicological testing. In 2024, broadcaster SBS aired a program dedicated to the case, as did the YouTube channel Echannel. Additionally, 한국일보 compared the Pocheon poisonings (포천 제초제 살인사건) to other herbicide-related cases, such as the “Chungbuk Boeun pesticide bean sprout rice case” (충북 보은 농약 콩나물밥 사건, February 2013) and the “Sangju pesticide cider case” (상주 농약사이다 사건), both of which remain unsolved.
Ultimately, NOH appealed the verdict and was sentenced to life imprisonment, demonstrating that appeals do not always benefit the accused, but may instead deliver greater justice for the victims.
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Journalist : Pillet Anaïs
Sources : KSTATION TV, under pictures, hyperlinks
