Supreme Court: "Assault on Driver Applies Even if Bus Was Stopped During Incident"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A man in his 60s who assaulted a bus driver asking him to wear a mask has been sentenced to prison by the Supreme Court.
On the 25th, the Supreme Court's 2nd Division (Presiding Justice Min Yusook) announced that it upheld the original sentence of 8 months imprisonment in the appeal trial of Mr. A, who was charged with assaulting a driver under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
Earlier, on December 8th last year around 6:30 PM, Mr. A boarded a bus in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, and was prosecuted for verbally abusing and assaulting the driver after being asked to "please wear a mask," saying, "Who are you to tell me to wear it or not?" He was investigated for kicking the rear door of the bus, choking the driver’s neck with both hands, hitting his face twice, and even assaulting passengers who tried to intervene.
Mr. A’s side denied all charges during the trial. However, as evidence such as bus CCTV footage and videos taken by other passengers’ mobile phones were played in court, most of the details stated in the indictment were confirmed to be true.
The first trial sentenced Mr. A to 8 months in prison. The trial court criticized, "Considering the circumstances and nature of the crime, the criminal nature is serious," and added, "Despite objective evidence confirming the assault, the defendant denied the crime and made no effort to compensate the victim, so a corresponding punishment is inevitable."
Mr. A’s side appealed on the grounds that "even if the defendant assaulted, the driver was not operating the bus at the time, so it is not 'assault on a driver'."
The second trial dismissed Mr. A’s appeal. It emphasized, "It was around rush hour when many passengers were boarding, and there were quite a few passengers on the bus. The victim intended to depart immediately once the defendant got off, and had the intention to continue driving the bus. Considering these points, even though the bus was stationary at the time of the assault, it qualifies as assault on a driver of a vehicle in operation."
The Supreme Court also agreed with this judgment. The court stated, "The lower court did not err in its legal interpretation regarding 'in operation' under the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (assault on a driver, etc.)," and dismissed Mr. A’s appeal.
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