In Front of Police Station... Korean Australian Assaulted with Racial Discrimination by White Men

Korean Man Assaulted in Sydney, Australia
Local Police Attitude Lukewarm... Controversy Grows

In Sydney, Australia, a Korean man was assaulted by three white men for having "small eyes." The incident reportedly took place near a police station, which has intensified the controversy.

On the 25th, JTBC reported that a man in his 20s, Mr. A, who was living in Sydney, was collectively assaulted by three white men. The incident occurred in front of a Sydney police station in the early hours of last December. Mr. A, who had entered Australia in May of the same year on a working holiday visa and was combining travel with work, was suddenly attacked.

Mr. A was assaulted by a group of three white individuals near the Sydney Police Station in Australia.
[Image source=JTBC broadcast capture]

On the day of the incident, two white men first approached Mr. A and immediately started cursing and making racist remarks. Mistaking Mr. A for a Thai person, they reportedly said things like "Thailand" and "small eyes."

When Mr. A asked them to stop the racial discrimination, they immediately began to assault him. At that time, another white man across the street also joined in the group assault. Regarding this, Mr. A told the media, "He ran from across the street and kicked me right away. He kicked me as if he wanted to kill me." Due to their assault, Mr. A suffered a laceration near his right eye and bruises all over his body, and he had to be taken to the emergency room for urgent treatment.

However, the attitude of the Australian police was reportedly not proactive. Mr. A even had to personally gather evidence by searching for CCTV footage from nearby stores while injured.

Mr. A also claimed that he did not receive adequate help from the Korean Consulate General in Sydney, stating, "(The consulate staff) said, 'I’m not sure, but there have been a lot of racial discrimination crimes and assaults.'" He lamented, "It would have been better if the consulate had supported me when I went to the police station or to give a statement, but there was none of that."

However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained, "We provided guidance on how to receive interpretation services and the consulate requested CCTV footage from the local police, offering consular assistance."

Meanwhile, more than three months have passed since Mr. A was assaulted, but the local police have yet to apprehend the perpetrators. Mr. A has since finished his life in Australia and returned to Korea.