Deceased's Daughter Appeals with Petition ... "Request for Reinvestigation"
A former public official who repeatedly assaulted and verbally abused a colleague, severely harassing them and ultimately leading to their death by suicide, was sentenced to one year in prison. Photo by Yonhap News Agency
[Asia Economy Reporter Nah Han-ah] A former public official who repeatedly assaulted and verbally abused a colleague at work, severely harassing them and ultimately causing their death by suicide, was sentenced to one year in prison.
The Changwon District Court announced on the 29th that it had sentenced A (40), a former public employee at Tongyeong City Hall, to one year in prison on charges of injury, assault, and insult.
A admitted to the prosecution's allegations that he repeatedly assaulted and verbally abused B (then 52), an older colleague who worked at the Tongyeong Municipal Crematorium and who took his own life in May last year.
According to the charges, A continuously harassed B, who was 10 years older and had worked much longer, citing problems with B's way of performing his duties.
In front of other employees, A frequently insulted B with harsh verbal abuse such as, "You're a useless piece of trash, so why even come to work? At 52 years old, if you lived like that, I'd feel sorry for you. It's better to die. If you have guts, try hitting me."
B was found dead in May last year at the Tongyeong Municipal Memorial Park Crematorium, his workplace.
Police investigations revealed that B had died by suicide. The bereaved family demanded a reinvestigation, stating, "He took his own life due to workplace harassment."
Additionally, in June last year, a petition titled "An employee forced to commit suicide, requesting reinvestigation" was posted on the national petition board by someone claiming to be B's daughter.
The daughter wrote, "My father, who worked at the Tongyeong Public Crematorium for over 10 years, took his own life at his workplace," adding, "He had conflicts with a newly hired colleague and suffered repeated verbal abuse and physical assault from that colleague."
She continued, "During meals, he took my father's soup bowl and poured it over his head, and pushed him toward broken glass," appealing, "He harassed my father by following him around whenever he had the chance."
She also reported, "A said, 'I have connections and know many high-ranking people,' and 'I'll show you why I was called a fighting rooster when I worked at the shipyard.'" This petition post garnered support from over 130,000 people.
Meanwhile, the court stated, "Although A is a first-time offender, considering that the victim took the extreme step of suicide, a prison sentence is inevitable," and sentenced him to imprisonment. However, to guarantee his right to defense, A was not detained in court. It is reported that A has appealed the first trial verdict, claiming it is unjust.
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