20s Chef Sentenced to 10 Years for Beating Junior to Death Over Poor Work Performance

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Eun-young] A 20-year-old kitchen manager at a sashimi restaurant who lived and ate with a junior employee for over a month, repeatedly assaulted the junior employee, ultimately causing their death, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the court.

On the 30th, the Criminal Division 11 of Suwon District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Mi-kyung) announced that A (28), who was indicted on charges including injury resulting in death, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. A is accused of assaulting junior employee B (21), who lived and ate together with him, for over a month, causing B's death. C (19), who ignored B's assault injuries, was fined 5 million won on charges of special assault.

Earlier this year, A was employed as a kitchen manager at a sashimi restaurant in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, and invited junior employee B, who had previously worked at the same restaurant, to work together.

Accordingly, B, who came up to Yongin from another region, started working at the sashimi restaurant while living in a dormitory with A and another colleague, C.

However, A began assaulting B for reasons such as "not being able to work" and "not admitting mistakes."

In mid-March, A subjected B to harsh treatment such as making him lie face down and do push-ups because B was not performing his work properly. Around the same time, A kicked B's stomach about 30 times, saying B was talking nonsense, and threw five bundled portable burner butane gas canisters at B's head. A also hit B's palms and thighs with a fly swatter.

On April 8, A made B kneel and struck his thighs about ten times with an aluminum pipe for oversleeping and being lazy. From April 10, for three consecutive days, A repeatedly assaulted B using fists and feet.

Due to the assaults that lasted over a month, B became physically very weak, showing symptoms such as falling asleep without reason and vomiting while eating.

Despite this, on April 13 around 4:30 p.m., A assaulted vomiting B with fists, a beverage bottle, and a stainless steel stove cover. The assault and harsh treatment continued until late at night, and around 11 p.m., A took B to the dormitory bathroom, stripped off his upper clothes, poured cold water on him, tied his hands and feet, and indiscriminately beat him with an aluminum pipe.

The next day around 10 a.m., during preparation for work, A assaulted B again. B collapsed and was taken to the hospital but ultimately died.

The police, having found signs of assault on the body, investigated A, who lied, saying, "The victim fell in the bathroom about a month ago and hurt his head." However, the truth was revealed when another perpetrator, C, who had ignored the assaults, reversed his statement during a second investigation.

C testified, "I usually saw A hitting the victim, so I was afraid I would be hit too and couldn't speak out, but now I will tell the truth to clear the victim's grievance," adding, "The claim that the victim was injured in the bathroom was something A told me to say." He also confessed to assaulting B under A's orders the day before B's death.

The court stated, "The defendant's crime ultimately resulted in the death of the 21-year-old victim," and "Although the shock suffered by the bereaved family seems difficult to heal, the defendant did not take any special measures to restore the damage."

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