Hwaseong City to Pursue Civil and Criminal Legal Action Against Petitioner Who Assaulted Mayor

"Zero-Tolerance Response to Media and Social Media Comments Spreading False Information"

Hwaseong City in Gyeonggi Province has adopted a zero-tolerance policy against verbal abuse and violence from civil petitioners. This comes after Mayor Jung Myunggeun was injured in an assault by a petitioner at a local restaurant.

On September 23, Hwaseong City issued an official statement announcing that it will pursue all possible legal actions, including both criminal prosecution and civil liability, against the petitioner who assaulted Mayor Jung during a luncheon meeting with local institution heads at a restaurant in Jeongnam-myeon on September 16.

The city also stated that it would strengthen institutional measures to protect public officials from malicious petitioners.

The city explained that, as a result of the incident, Mayor Jung suffered injuries requiring four weeks of recovery, including a torn ligament in his right leg. In fact, on September 23, Mayor Jung was seen attending a meeting with the Suwon-Yongin-Osan-Hwaseong branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Gyeonggi Regional Headquarters at the Dongtan branch office conference room, with his foot in a cast.

The city described the perpetrator as a "malicious petitioner who, after purchasing land within a special planning zone from Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH), has repeatedly engaged in verbal abuse and threats against public officials in an attempt to evade the public contribution fee-a system for returning development gains to society." The police arrested the perpetrator immediately after the incident and are currently investigating the details of the case.

The city further announced that it will apply a zero-tolerance policy and take civil and criminal legal action against any media outlets spreading false information about this incident, as well as social media accounts and individuals who share or comment to spread rumors.