Felt Like a Daughter... A Woman in Her 50s Who Helped a 'Convenience Store Short Cut' Victim Lost Her Job and Faces Financial Hardship

20s Male Perpetrator Seriously Injures Victim Trying to Stop Assault
"Please Impose Severe Punishment to Prevent Further Victims"

During the indiscriminate assault incident at a convenience store, which occurred because the victim had short hair, a man in his 50s, Mr. A (53), who helped the victim, is reportedly facing financial hardship after losing his job.

On the 2nd, the Jinju Sexual Violence Counseling Center announced that Mr. A submitted an appeal to the Changwon District Court Jeonju Branch on the 29th of last month, urging for severe punishment of the male defendant, Mr. B.

[Photo source=CCTV footage (Yonhap News), YTN]

Mr. A stated that he has been attending a psychological treatment center due to mental distress following the incident and is struggling financially while working as a day laborer. He said, "I have suffered significant mental and financial damage from the incident. The defendant claims he cannot afford a settlement due to financial difficulties, so I am suspicious about how he managed to hire a lawyer." He continued, "He is trying to evade punishment by using the excuse of diminished mental capacity without a proper apology, which makes me furious. This is a deceitful act that victimizes the victims twice." He appealed, "Please sentence the defendant to imprisonment so that no more victims like this will arise."

The male defendant, Mr. B, in his 20s, assaulted a female part-time worker, Ms. C, also in her 20s, at a convenience store in Hadae-dong, Jinju-si, Gyeongnam, around 12:10 a.m. on November 4th last year, because she had short hair. At the time, Mr. B said, "Seeing that the woman has short hair, she must be a feminist," and "Feminists deserve to be hit," while assaulting her. He is also accused of forcibly taking the victim’s phone when she tried to report to the police, placing it in a microwave, and damaging it by operating the microwave.

When a customer, Mr. A, who witnessed this, tried to intervene, Mr. B said, "Why don’t you take the man’s side? That woman is a feminist," and punched him in the face and struck his head with a chair. Mr. A suffered fractures in his shoulder and nose area and underwent suturing surgery for cuts on his ear, neck, and eye.

In an interview, Mr. A’s daughter said, "He said, ‘She’s like a daughter to me, how could I just stand by and watch that?’" and added, "When the perpetrator was about to approach the clerk, my father called out to the perpetrator and took the blow instead."

The female victim, Ms. C, suffered hearing loss as a sequela. On the 29th of last month, she posted on social media (SNS), "Due to the perpetrator’s assault, I was diagnosed with damage to the auditory nerve in my left ear and sensorineural hearing loss. There is no separate treatment for the lost hearing, so it remains a permanent impairment. Wearing a hearing aid is the only option," she lamented.

The prosecution requested a 5-year prison sentence for Mr. B, who was indicted on charges including aggravated assault, during the sentencing hearing. The first trial verdict is scheduled to be held on the 9th at the Changwon District Court.