"Change to Rice and Makgeolli"... 60-Year-Old Causes Disturbance in Neighborhood Six Months After Release

Causing Trouble at Restaurant Again 6 Months After Release
"Brought 10kg of Rice, So Give Me Makgeolli"
Court Considers History of Surgery Including Pulmonary Lobectomy

A man in his 60s who was sentenced to prison for repeatedly causing disturbances at a store and was released has been sentenced to prison again after causing disturbances while roaming around the Yongsan-gu area less than six months after his release.

Image unrelated to the article content.
Photo by Getty Images

On the 10th, Judge Ma Seong-yeong of the Criminal Division 7 at the Seoul Western District Court announced that A (63), who is charged with obstruction of business, property damage, and theft, was sentenced to six months in prison.

Earlier, on February 14 at around 2:29 a.m., A opened the cover of an aquarium at a restaurant in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, and stole a flatfish worth about 80,000 won by putting it into a paper sack. About a week later, on the 27th at around 2:28 a.m., he stole a net of sea squirts and a mullet from the same restaurant and fled. In September of last year, he demanded the restaurant owner exchange 10 kg of rice he brought for two bottles of Makgeolli. When the owner refused, A threw dishes on the floor and kicked a chair.

A was previously sentenced to one year and three years in prison for property damage and special threats at the Seoul Western District Court in October 2020 and June 2022, respectively, and was incarcerated. In September 2022, he was sentenced to eight months in prison for obstruction of business at the Seoul Central District Court, and was released in March last year. He caused disturbances at a restaurant again about six months after his release.

Judge Ma explained the sentencing, saying, "He committed crimes during the recidivism period and has multiple prior convictions of the same kind," but also considered "his poor health condition, including undergoing lung mass resection surgery while in detention, and the fact that the victim does not want the defendant to be punished." A lung nodule refers to a lesion found in the lung measuring less than 3 cm, and if it is 3 cm or larger, it is called a lung mass.