40s Man Who Assaulted Delivery Worker Without Mask Receives Fine Again in Appeal Trial

Seoul Northern District Court building.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] A man in his 40s who was fined in the first trial for kicking a delivery worker for not wearing a mask appealed, claiming self-defense, but the appeal was dismissed.

The Criminal Division 4 of the Seoul Northern District Court (Presiding Judge Heo Kyung-ho) dismissed the appeal filed by A (49), who was charged with assault, on the 26th and upheld the original verdict. A was fined 700,000 won in the first trial.

A is accused of kicking delivery worker B in the abdomen in front of a villa in Jungnang-gu, Seoul, on March 25 last year after a scuffle broke out when B approached without properly wearing a mask.

B tried to move to another location without handing over the credit card after hearing insults during the process of verifying A's identity before delivering the card. This was in accordance with company regulations that prohibit delivering credit cards to customers who use abusive language. Then, A approached B, who was returning to his motorcycle, and kicked him in the stomach.

A claimed that his actions were to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and that he was acting in self-defense because he was assaulted by B. However, the first trial court ruled that "the defendant chased the victim who was trying to leave and kicked him, so it is not self-defense," and imposed a fine.

A appealed on grounds of legal error, but the appellate court's judgment was the same. The court stated, "The act goes beyond passive defense and has the character of an attack on the victim, so it is not self-defense."