20s Fined 5 Million Won for Forcing Sock into Mouth and Assaulting Fellow Inmate

Contesting the 1 Million Won Fine Summary Order in Court
The Court: "Stricter Punishment Needed Than Summary Order"

A man in his 20s who harassed a fellow inmate by forcing a sock into his mouth and assaulting him in prison was sentenced to a fine.

On the 2nd, the Cheongju District Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge An Jae-hoon) sentenced A (25), who was tried on charges of joint assault and special assault under the Act on the Punishment of Violent Crimes, to a fine of 5 million won, according to Yonhap News Agency.

A was prosecuted for assaulting fellow inmate B (28), who lived in the same cell at Cheongju Prison, on August 15 last year from around 1 p.m. for about two hours. Under the pretext of helping B with stretching, A had other inmates hold B's feet, then pulled B's arms and pressed down on his shoulders with his weight. At the time, despite B's pleas of pain and requests to stop, A forced a sock into B's mouth and continued the assault.

Cheongju District Court Exterior

Later, A proposed practicing martial arts to B, and when B refused, A struck B multiple times with a wooden hanger rod nearby and punched B's abdomen despite other inmates trying to intervene. Before the trial, A received a summary order for a fine of 1 million won but appealed and requested a formal trial. However, the court imposed a heavier fine of 5 million won than the summary order.

The court stated, "The defendant not only failed to reflect during his imprisonment but committed another crime. Considering that he bullied the victim as if he were a powerful figure in the correctional facility, it shows an antisocial tendency with no fear of the judicial system, warranting strict punishment." The court added, "The defendant initially received a summary order for a fine but requested a formal trial and then failed to appear without any reason. It is appropriate to impose a heavier fine than the summary order." Furthermore, "Although it would be reasonable to detain the defendant for a considerable period given the lack of mitigating circumstances, the Criminal Procedure Act, which does not allow changing the type of sentence, mandates imposing a fine."

In the past, heavier penalties than summary orders could not be imposed in formal trials, but Article 457-2 of the Criminal Procedure Act, amended in December 2017, states that while courts cannot change the type of sentence (e.g., from a fine to imprisonment), they can impose heavier penalties within the same type of sentence, such as a higher fine.