30s Woman Suffered 'Random Assault' at Seoul Station, Cheekbone Depressed
Calls for Strict Punishment of Perpetrator Grow Louder
'Random Crimes' Increasing Every Year
A woman in her 30s was subjected to a so-called 'random assault' by a man she did not know at Seoul Station. Photo by SBS Broadcast Screen Capture.
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] A woman in her 30s was the victim of a so-called 'random assault' by a man she did not know at Seoul Station, sparking controversy. The woman suffered injuries including a depressed cheekbone due to the assault. The victim's family emphasized that this is a hate crime against women and a social issue.
Citizens also classified the incident as a hate crime, pointing out it as a kind of retaliatory violence. Experts analyzed that the perpetrator likely had impulsive tendencies. Currently, the police are facing difficulties identifying the suspect due to the lack of closed-circuit television (CCTV) in the area.
On the 26th of last month, around 1:50 p.m., woman A (32) was assaulted by an unidentified man near an ice cream specialty store inside Seoul Station.
A suffered injuries including a torn left eye area and a depressed cheekbone. The male perpetrator reportedly fled immediately after the assault, heading toward the Model Taxi stand near Exit 15 of Seoul Station.
In the police investigation, A stated, "While riding the escalator toward the Airport Railroad entrance, a man approached and bumped into my shoulder. Then he cursed and hit my face," according to reports.
The police revealed that the area where A was assaulted is a CCTV blind spot, complicating the investigation.
The incident spread after A's family shared the victim's story on social networking services (SNS). The writer, who identified herself as A's older sister, stressed, "This is a clear intentional, one-sided assault and a misogynistic violence targeting women," adding, "This incident is no longer just my sister's problem but my problem, our family's problem, women's problem, and ultimately a societal problem."
This is not the first 'random crime' targeting women. On the 14th of last month, a man in his 40s was arrested by police in Nam-gu, Ulsan City, for assaulting a woman he did not know and threatening her with a weapon. The man hit the unknown woman's head and threatened her with a weapon he had purchased in advance at a convenience store.
Violent crimes targeting women continue to occur. According to the '2019 Life of Women in Statistics' released by Statistics Korea in July last year, among major criminal offenses under the Penal Code such as theft, murder, robbery, and sexual violence in 2017, female victims of sexual violence numbered 29,272, which is 16 times higher than male victims (1,778).
Consequently, women's anxiety about violent crimes is significant. 57% of women felt 'anxious' about crime occurrence, which is 12.5 percentage points higher than men (44.5%).
Women felt anxiety in the order of △crime occurrence (57%) △traffic accidents (49.8%) △new diseases (45.7%), while men felt anxiety in the order of △traffic accidents (45.4%) △crime occurrence (44.5%) △information security (41.3%).
Women classify such incidents not as 'random crimes' but as 'misogynistic crimes' and demand strict punishment for the perpetrators.
Office worker B (27) said, "I think it's more accurate to see this as a 'misogynistic crime' rather than a 'random crime,'" adding, "In any crime, the victims are often the vulnerable, such as the elderly, children, and women."
She continued, "Recently, crimes against women have increased, which is scary. When I have to walk alone through dark alleys, I always take a detour to the main road."
Another office worker C (27) also said, "A significant number of 'random crime' victims are women," adding, "It is so violent to only inflict violence on those who appear weaker. They cannot express anger toward some power or target that actually makes them angry, so they vent their anger on women whom they consider inferior."
There have been cases where random crimes escalated to murder. In October 2018, a 20-year-old man in Geoje, Gyeongnam, indiscriminately assaulted a woman in her 50s by the pier for no reason, resulting in her death.
The victim knelt and begged for her life, but the man ignored her and assaulted her indiscriminately for about 30 minutes. Notably, before the crime, the man searched on his phone for terms like 'when a person dies' and 'whether a person is dead or not.'
Experts generally analyze that those with impulsive tendencies are more likely to be perpetrators of 'random assaults.'
Professor Lee Dong-gwi of Yonsei University's Department of Psychology explained, "Generally, when people experience loss or failure, they either internalize it as depression or other internalized behaviors or externalize it by expressing anger. Especially, those who experience frustration and have impulsive tendencies and resentment toward social norms are more likely to exhibit dangerous behaviors. They usually look for someone to blame."
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