Group Assault on Koreans in Mongolia... Concerns Raised Over Whether It Is Retaliation for Yangsan Middle School Students' Group Assault

Group Assault on Koreans Occurs in Mongolia... "Nose Bone Broken, Surgery Required"
Victim Korean Resident Suspects Retaliation for 'Group Assault on Yangsan Middle School Students'
Earlier on the 2nd, Four Korean Middle School Students in Yangsan, Gyeongnam, Assaulted Mongolian Middle School Students

The photo is not related to any specific expression in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] An incident occurred in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, where Korean residents were subjected to so-called 'random assaults' by locals. Some speculate that this may be retaliation for the group assault on Mongolian middle school students that occurred earlier this month in Korea.

On the 16th, MBC's 'News Desk' reported on a group assault incident that took place near a hotel on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in the early hours of the 6th.

According to the released closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, a Korean man, Mr. A, who was walking along the street at the time of the incident, was chased by another man who got out of a car, then taken to where the car was and surrounded.

Mr. A, an employee of a hotel operated by Koreans, tried to call for help on his mobile phone, but five Mongolians pushed him into the back seat of the car and assaulted him. Three Korean residents who were at the hotel rushed out, but the Mongolians also assaulted them.

The victims stated, "We were hit a lot around the eyes and ears. My nasal bone was also broken and required surgery."

The victims further claimed, "One of the Mongolian assailants showed up in a police uniform and even presented a police ID, and the response from the local police who arrived was strange," adding, "(The police) told the five Mongolian assailants not to forcibly detain them but to come voluntarily."

The victims suspect that the reason for this assault is related to the 'group assault on Mongolian middle school students' that occurred earlier this month in Yangsan, Gyeongnam. Mr. B, a Korean resident, claimed, "They asked if I was Korean, and when I said yes and asked why, they kept provoking me."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "Although the atmosphere was tense earlier this month when the group assault on middle school students was first reported, it soon subsided," and added that they have requested a fair investigation from the local police regarding this incident.

On the 16th, MBC's 'News Desk' reported on a group assault incident involving Koreans that occurred in the early morning of the 6th in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Photo by MBC 'News Desk'

Meanwhile, according to the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency on the 2nd, a 13-year-old middle school student, Ms. C, who immigrated from Mongolia, was confined and assaulted by four peers at a villa in Yangsan, Gyeongnam, in the early hours of July 3rd. The perpetrators reportedly filmed Ms. C being assaulted while tied up in her underwear and circulated the footage among surrounding students.

On the 3rd, Mongolian state media and other local outlets reported the incident in detail, and it was confirmed that some Mongolians held protest demonstrations in front of the Korean embassy shortly after the reports.