'Inter-floor Noise Conflict' 50s Man Stabs Teen in Apartment Upstairs

Knife Fight Between Neighbors in Apartment in Yongin, Gyeonggi
Past Conflicts Also Due to Interfloor Noise Disputes

A stabbing incident occurred between neighbors over a noise dispute in an apartment in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi Province.

On the 28th, the Yongin Western Police Station in Gyeonggi announced that they arrested Mr. A (in his 50s) on charges of aggravated assault. Mr. A is accused of stabbing Mr. B (19), an upstairs resident who came to his apartment in Suji-gu, Yongin-si, once in the back with a weapon at around 8:25 p.m. that day.

Mr. B was taken to the hospital after the incident and is reported to be in stable condition. Mr. A also sustained an injury to his arm during the incident and is currently receiving treatment.

The police are investigating on the premise that Mr. A committed the crime after a conflict with Mr. B, who came to confront him about the noise issue. It is known that they had frequent disputes related to noise between floors in the past.

A police official stated, "A weapon report was received, and the suspect was arrested at the scene, but since the suspect is also undergoing treatment for injuries, a precise investigation has not yet been conducted," adding, "We plan to investigate the specific circumstances as soon as conditions permit."

Meanwhile, according to the report titled "Current Status and Improvement Tasks of Noise Between Floors in Multi-family Housing" published by the National Assembly Research Service in 2022, complaints about noise between floors submitted to the Multi-family Housing Management Dispute Mediation Committee and others increased more than threefold from 517 cases in 2016 to 1,648 cases in 2021. Additionally, phone consultations about noise between floors received by the Noise Between Floors Neighbor Center were ▲26,257 cases in 2019, ▲42,250 cases in 2020, and ▲46,596 cases in 2021, showing an approximately 77% increase from 2019 to 2021.