Man Calmly Eating Ice Cream After Knocking Out Female Civil Servant with Punch

Photo by KBS News Video Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] A controversy has erupted after it was revealed that a man in his 40s assaulted a female public official in her 50s when he visited a district office in Changwon, Gyeongnam, on the 5th to receive emergency livelihood support funds. In particular, the perpetrator caused outrage by calmly eating ice cream in front of the unconscious public official.

Regarding this, Heo Seong-mu, mayor of Changwon, pointed out that measures must be put in place to protect social welfare public officials.

In an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 9th, Mayor Heo said, "The victim is a woman in her 50s and a welfare department manager," and added, "She is currently hospitalized. I visited her in the hospital last Sunday and saw very dark bruises on her cheek and jaw," reporting on the victim public official's current condition.

He continued, "At the time of the assault, (the victim public official) was pushed backward and fell. In the process, she hit a table and lost consciousness, suffering from concussion symptoms."

Mayor Heo explained the background of the incident: "(The perpetrator) was released in March and applied for the emergency welfare support system. So from the end of March, we had been providing emergency welfare support funds," adding, "However, the perpetrator had two registered accounts, and the funds were deposited into an account that was subject to seizure and from which withdrawal was not possible. Because of this, the withdrawal could not be made, and he came to complain on the 1st."

He continued, "The perpetrator complained, and we calmed him down by saying, 'We will deposit it into an account from which withdrawal is possible.' But the next morning, he came again and complained that the deposit had not been made and used abusive language," and said, "He kept swearing, and as the staff was struggling, the manager nearby tried to intervene a little, but at that moment, the violence occurred."

Mayor Heo emphasized, "Such incidents frequently occur at civil complaint counters. Verbal abuse and loud voices happen very often, and in some cases, extreme situations like physical assault occur," adding, "It is nearly impossible to prevent sudden incidents like this, but institutional improvements are necessary."

The Changwon City branch of the National Integrated Public Officials Labor Union held a press conference at the Changwon City Hall Press Center on the 8th, demanding strict punishment for a civil petitioner who assaulted a public official.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, the Changwon branch of the National Union of Public Officials held a press conference on the 8th, urging the establishment of protection measures for public officials and strict punishment for the perpetrator.

The Changwon branch stated, "The shock and morale decline experienced by Changwon city public officials due to this incident are beyond words," and said, "We can no longer just watch incidents where public officials are assaulted and verbally abused by civil petitioners simply because they are public officials."

They added, "Establish institutional measures to protect public officials from assault and verbal abuse by civil petitioners."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.