"Resident Representative Who Insulted Child Saying 'You're a Thief When You Come to Others' Playground'"

Summary indictment for abusing and threatening elementary school children playing at playground in October last year
False 112 report claiming "children damaged playground equipment" immediately after incident

A handwritten note by a child who was verbally abused by the resident representative chairman while playing at another apartment playground last October. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The head of the residents' association, who threatened elementary school students living outside the apartment complex with harsh words such as "If you come to someone else's playground, you're a thief," has been summarily indicted.

On the 28th, the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office recently summarily indicted Mr. A, a man in his 60s and head of the residents' association of an apartment complex in Incheon, on charges of child abuse and threats under the Child Welfare Act, imposing a fine of 3 million won. A summary indictment is a procedure where, in cases punishable by fines or confiscation, the prosecutor can request the court to impose a sentence without a trial.

Mr. A is accused of emotionally abusing and threatening five elementary school students in grades 4 to 5, including Mr. B, around 7 p.m. on October 12 last year at an apartment complex in Yeongjongdo, Jung-gu, Incheon. It is reported that he intimidated them after realizing they were not residents of the apartment complex. A note written by one of the children who was playing in the playground at the time stated, "The grandfather said, 'Don't you know that if you come to someone else's playground, you're a thief?'" and "He got angry and told us to leave our cell phones and bags and follow him. We couldn't even call our moms." The child also wrote, "I shouted that I didn't want to go, but he cursed us, calling us names like 'this one ○○, that one ○○,' and said we would grow up to be very bad big thieves," adding, "I was very scared and thought it was a big problem."

On the day of the incident, Mr. A reported directly to 112 (emergency number) that the children had damaged playground equipment, but after the police reviewed the closed-circuit television (CCTV), there was no evidence that Mr. B and the others had damaged the playground facilities. Meanwhile, Mr. A was also investigated for kidnapping minors related to taking the victims to the management office, but the prosecution dismissed the charges due to insufficient evidence. It is known that Mr. A stated to the police, "Since many outside children were coming to the playground, I took them to the management office as a warning because I was worried about damage to the equipment."

Mr. A's actions provoked outrage not only from the victimized children and their parents but also from the residents. The parents of the victims initially intended to forgive the matter if they received a sincere apology, but since Mr. A insisted he did nothing wrong, they eventually filed a complaint. Seventeen days after the incident, Mr. A held an emergency meeting of the apartment residents' representatives and put to a vote a proposal titled "Control of External Users of Playground Facilities," which stated that the police would be notified if children from outside used the playground. The proposal was approved with two votes in favor and one against at the meeting attended by Mr. A and two other representatives. Residents who learned of this later strongly opposed it, leading to the deletion of the clause. They also pushed for Mr. A's dismissal, claiming his unilateral actions had damaged the apartment complex's reputation.