50s on Probation for Insulting and Assaulting Police Requesting 'Mask Wearing'... "Is This Outside?"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] A man in his 50s who verbally abused and assaulted police officers after they requested him to wear a mask when responding to a report that his child was hitting him was sentenced to a suspended prison term.

According to the legal community on the 24th, Judge Nam Shinhyang of the 17th Criminal Division at the Seoul Central District Court recently sentenced Kim (53), who was charged with obstruction of official duties, to 8 months in prison with a 2-year suspension. He was also ordered to attend 40 hours of alcohol addiction treatment lectures and complete 120 hours of community service.

Kim was prosecuted for verbally abusing and punching police officers who responded to his own 112 emergency call last October at dawn from his home in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, reporting that "my daughter and son hit me, their father," which was a case of domestic assault.

When the police officers, while listening to family statements, asked him to wear a mask, he reportedly said, "You XX bastard, you dog XX, is this outside? What mask inside the house?" He then punched Officer A once in the abdomen, forcibly removed the mask, and scratched the upper lip with his fingernails, according to the investigation.

At the previous sentencing hearing, the prosecution requested the court to sentence Kim to one year in prison. In court, Kim’s defense attorney acknowledged the charges but stated, "He worked diligently as a public official for 22 years, and after retirement, he faced setbacks in his ventures and suffered significant stock losses, which led him to rely on alcohol and caused this incident." Kim also said, "I regret my actions and will diligently undergo (alcohol addiction) treatment."

The court stated, "The fact that he assaulted police officers performing their official duties without justifiable reason, which is by no means a minor matter, is an unfavorable factor," but also ruled, "Considering that Kim admitted his wrongdoing and showed remorse, the assault was relatively minor, and he has no prior criminal record exceeding fines, the sentence is determined by comprehensively weighing these sentencing factors."

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