A Simpson College professor killed her husband. Who was the abuser, and who was the abused?

To craft the proper sentence for former Simpson College professor Gowun Park in the macabre death of her husband, Judge Brad McCall had to delve into the history of Park's troubled marriage and ultimately decide who was the abuser and who was the abused.

Park, 45, pleaded guilty Thursday to voluntary manslaughter, kidnapping and domestic abuse in the 2020 death of Sung Woo Nam. In a hearing that stretched over four hours, McCall heard arguments, testimony and impassioned pleas from Nam's family before ruling that Park's sentences would run concurrently rather than consecutively, sending her to prison for 10 years instead of 25.

Throughout the four years the case has been pending, Park has maintained that Nam, 41 when he died, repeatedly abused her and had given his consent for her to tie him up when his behavior became problematic. Nam was unbound when first responders, called by Park, found him unresponsive in the couple's West Des Moines condominium.

But police recovered a deleted video on Park's phone showing him bound, including a rope around his neck, and pleading to be released shortly before he died.

At Thursday's hearing, Park's attorneys again described her as a survivor of abuse and presented testimony from a domestic violence advocate who said that, based on materials she reviewed, Nam scored a 17 out of 20 on a danger assessment meant to predict whether a domestic partner might kill or seriously injure the other person in the relationship.

Prosecutors, though, argued it was Park who was abusing Nam. And Nam's family, who traveled from New York for the hearing, told McCall in emotional victim-impact testimony that they had watched Park lie to, financially exploit and emotionally abuse Nam for years before the couple moved to Iowa.

McCall did not address those allegations, noting he was bound to rule solely on the offenses to which Park pleaded guilty, and said there was "clear evidence" Park had suffered abuse at the hands of Nam and, before him, her father.

When McCall allowed Park to serve her sentences concurrently, Nam's family erupted in protests in both Korean and English. As the judge concluded the hearing, Nam's sister Soojin could be heard crying out, "There is no justice!"

Defense recounts Sung Woo Nam's alleged abuse

Among other evidence, Park's attorneys presented photos of her with bruises, scratches and marks on her neck, as well as numerous emails and text messages in which Nam acknowledged and apologized for assaulting and abusing his wife. They said Nam controlled his wife in part by repeatedly threatening to kill himself if she should leave him or reject him.

The court also saw letters from several therapists, advocates and employers who described Park's symptoms of trauma and fear, especially in encounters with aggressive men.

Previously: Iowa Supreme Court rules ex-Simpson College professor's statements can be used in murder trial

Defense attorney Tammy Gentry argued that Park, a South Korean citizen, came from a cultural context in which domestic violence is routinely covered up to avoid "shaming the family" and suggested Nam likely struggled with mental illness.

"I don’t say any of this to impugn Mr. Nam," she said. "He should be alive today. He should be part of a community where he can get the help he needs."

Nonetheless, she said, Nam's record of abusing Park "simply cannot be parsed out of what brings us here today."

Prosecutors say Gowun Park was the abuser

Prosecutors, though, said Park was flipping the roles of abuser and victim.

"What I think the evidence shows here is the defendant acted to isolate the victim, that she created these rigid rules, threatened and bound him," prosecutor Scott Brown told McCall.

Evidence showed Nam signed legal documents pledging his money to Park and promising not to leave her without her assent. Other notes and emails showed Nam agreeing to strict household rules, and text records showed he thanked Park for allowing him to work, sent her hourly updates, and even agreed to pay a $100 penalty any time he missed one of those check-ins.

Videos from Park's phone showed him kneeling, partially clothed, apologizing for problems in their relationship and consenting to be bound, with Park heard prompting him on what to say.

That led Dallas County Attorney Jeannine Ritchie to ask one witness, "That’s an example of how a female aggressor would dominate a male victim, isn’t it?"

Family claims Gowun Park exploited Sung Woo Nam for years

Nam's family told the judge Park had abused him over their eight-year relationship. His parents, sister and brother-in-law described him as "good and kindhearted," "gentle" and "nurturing."

Although he'd shown little interest in material goods previously, Soojin Nam said, her brother allegedly bought Park expensive purses and jewelry, drained his savings to support her lifestyle, and ultimately sold for more than $1 million an apartment his parents had bought for him, transferring the proceeds to Park.

"I begged him multiple times please to break away from her because she was a money- and soul-sucking evil," his mother, Bong Nam, said in a statement read by her daughter.

When Park moved to Iowa in 2017 to become an assistant professor of economics at Simpson, Sung Woo Nam's family hoped he was free of her. But the following year, he told them he'd found a job in Minneapolis and dropped out of contact until police came to tell them he'd been killed in Iowa.

The Des Moines Register could not independently verify those claims from court records. Park, via her attorneys, denied she had emotionally or financially abused her husband.

"Mr. Nam was physically and emotionally abusive to Ms. Park, including multiple threats of his own suicide, and putting the responsibility for his emotional stability on Ms. Park," Gentry said in a statement.

Soojin Nam said the family learned after her brother's death that Park had made his life a living hell, bounded by rules and punishments and control.

"He lived in slavery, being controlled by her in his entire life," she said. "It was human slavery, the way Gowun controlled my brother’s physical and mental state."

Abuse expert says husband showed 'red flags'

Kristen Faisal, an expert with the Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, testified for the defense that Sung Woo Nam's actions followed a common pattern for abusers.

In particular, threatening suicide and repeatedly attempting to strangle Park, both reflected in later text messages he sent apologizing to her, are among the highest indications of risk that abusers will later kill or attempt to kill their partners, she said.

"When you hear strangulation, you think, oh, dear, this is a very escalated situation," she said.

Related: Suspect in girlfriend's killing has history of abuse against victim

Prosecutors pressed Faisal on the text messages and videos appearing to show Park controlling and commanding Nam. Even those, she said, are not inconsistent with Park being abused, since it's common for abusers, out of sincere regret or to manipulate their victim, to make extravagant apologies and promise to reform their behavior.

"I’ve seen many other forms of media showing apologies or promises to change," Faisal said.

But Soojin Nam, in her statement, insisted Park's claims of victimhood are insincere.

"She’s not the victim. My brother is the victim. My brother was abused and punished by her in inhumane ways," she said, adding that in the video taken before his death, "He begged for one more breath. He begged to be let go. He begged for his life."

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: In ex-Simpson College professor's murder case, who was the abuser?