"Throwing Sand and Hitting with Sticks" Two People Who Hit Each Other, Different Punishments... Why?

One Person Fined for Injury, Another Sentenced to Prison for Aggravated Injury
Law: "Considering the Danger of the Weapon and the Degree of Victim's Injury"

Two men who fought over a land boundary and hit each other received different punishments: one was fined, and the other was sentenced to imprisonment.

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Two men who fought over a land boundary and hit each other received different punishments. The man who threw punches was fined for assault, while the man who hit with a wooden stick was sentenced to imprisonment.

According to Yonhap News on the 9th, the Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 1 (Chief Judge Song Jongsun) announced that it sentenced Mr. A, in his 60s, who was indicted for assault and other charges, to a fine of 4 million won, and Mr. B, who was indicted for aggravated assault, to six months in prison with a two-year probation.

Mr. A and Mr. B were brought to trial for assaulting each other in front of Mr. B’s office in Chuncheon City on May 9 last year. At the time, Mr. A assaulted Mr. B by throwing sand at him after being refused the removal of a boundary pipe installed by Mr. B. It is also known that Mr. A knocked Mr. B down and punched his face, causing injuries requiring two weeks of medical treatment.

In response, Mr. B hit Mr. A’s head with a wooden stick about 50 to 60 cm long. Due to Mr. B’s assault, Mr. A sustained injuries requiring three weeks of treatment.

Later, when both stood side by side in court, they claimed their actions were acts of self-defense or excessive defense, but the court did not accept these claims.

The court fined Mr. A 4 million won, stating, "He was not forgiven by Mr. B and the damage was not restored." On the other hand, Mr. B, who was charged with aggravated assault, was sentenced to imprisonment but with the execution of the sentence suspended. The court explained the sentencing by saying, "Considering the danger of the weapon used and the extent of the victim’s injuries, the culpability is not light, and he was not forgiven by Mr. A."

Meanwhile, cases where both parties assaulted each other but received different punishments have been reported before. In July, two men in their 50s who were indicted for injuring each other by hitting each other’s heads with beer bottles during a quarrel involving verbal abuse at a pub received different sentences: one received imprisonment and the other probation.

The two men were drinking with their respective groups at different tables in a pub in Wonju City around 9:30 p.m. on November 10 last year when a dispute broke out, leading to mutual assault with beer bottles causing injuries, and they stood trial for mutual assault.

The court stated, "The use of beer bottles to injure each other is dangerous in means and method," but sentenced only one of them, Mr. C, to eight months imprisonment. This was because Mr. C committed the crime during a recidivism period. Recidivism refers to a person who commits another crime punishable by imprisonment of one year or more within three years after completing a previous imprisonment sentence. Mr. C was known to have been sentenced to imprisonment in September 2019 for special property damage and other charges.