"Why scold me when it could be fixed?" Outrageous
Husband belatedly pleads, "I have to be the sole breadwinner and move"
A car owner forgave a young child who scratched his expensive foreign car parked in a paid parking lot, but after the child's parents acted outrageously, he ultimately decided to charge for the repair costs.
Car owner Mr. A posted on an online community on the 5th with the title "They say my car was scratched, what a strange world." He said, "I had a car that I rarely drove stored in a paid parking lot with a monthly subscription, and I received a call from a manager saying that some children around 4th or 5th grade in elementary school scratched the car with a snow shovel made of wooden slats."
Mr. A said, "I asked the manager, 'Was it scratched badly?' and he said, 'The paint wasn't peeled off, but there were some white scratches,' so I told him, 'Just scold them a little and let them go,' and ended it." He continued, "But about an hour or two later, the manager called again and asked, 'Could you come over and help for a moment?' When I asked why, I heard a woman shouting nearby."
The child who was scolded by the manager went home and told the parents, and the mother came angrily to protest. When Mr. A, who went to the scene, said, "Isn't it adult behavior to teach children right from wrong when they damage someone else's property? I didn't receive any monetary compensation, I just pointed out who was right or wrong, so why get so angry?" the child's mother shouted insults, saying, "If you just fix the scratch on the car, wouldn't that be enough? Who are you to scold my precious child?"
Eventually, deciding that further conversation was pointless, Mr. A said, "I am the car owner, and I asked the elderly staff member to scold the child a little, so I apologized on behalf of the child and said sorry to him as well." He added, "I will take the car to the repair shop tomorrow and charge for the repair costs," then left. He lamented, "It's not a big scratch, but it's really bitter. I feel like the world is too harsh."
Mr. A attached a photo of his scratched car, which was an Audi vehicle with a price of about 250 million won at release. Netizens commented, "That child's mother just created a huge debt with one word," and "Financial treatment is the answer."
As the story became a big topic in the community, the car owner posted a follow-up, saying, "I value my time very much, so I prioritized the conclusion and solution over reasons or causes and didn't even check the CCTV." He updated, "After the accident, I only received the contact information of the offender and did not contact them separately, but I received several calls from the husband."
According to Mr. A, the child's father and the protesting woman's husband kept apologizing, saying, "I'm sorry," and pleaded for leniency, saying, "Can't we resolve this amicably?", "My wife is struggling with postpartum depression," "We don't have insurance, life is hard," "I'm the sole breadwinner and we have to move soon," and "Please just let it go."
Mr. A responded, "I just proceeded as my spouse told me to," "He didn't seem that depressed, and he clearly told me what he wanted," and "At first, I wanted to let it go since it was a matter between a child and an adult, but now it's an adult-to-adult issue, so I can't."
Mr. A eventually filed a police report. He said, "The repair shop said the initially impacted area was dented. I plan to move the car to an Audi authorized repair shop later. The repair process and cost estimate have not been made yet." He added, "As the comments suggested, I secured CCTV evidence, and since it's cumbersome and I don't know much about directly claiming, I filed a report with the police."
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