Teenager who made elderly person a 'cigarette shuttle'... School says "Will handle strictly, sincerely apologize"

Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education: "One of the Perpetrating Students is Our School Student"
"We Will Thoroughly Investigate the Incident Details"

A high school student wearing a yellow raincoat hit the head of a man in his 60s with a flower and demanded a cigarette errand / Photo by Internet Community Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Amid public outrage over teenage high school students who made a man in his 60s run errands for cigarettes and hit him on the head and shoulders with chrysanthemums used for memorial purposes, Gyeonggi Tourism High School, where one of the students is enrolled, has issued an official apology.

On the 28th, Gyeonggi Tourism High School released a statement under the name of the principal, saying, "We deeply regret the unfortunate incident reported in the media and feel a heavy sense of responsibility," and added, "As the issue is spreading among all students, we are concerned that it may hurt the hardworking current students and alumni, so we are posting the following statement."

They continued, "Among the four students (two male and two female) who led the incident, one male student who recently transferred from another region is currently enrolled at our school," and explained, "The school promises to thoroughly investigate the circumstances of the incident and handle the matter strictly and decisively."

They bowed their heads and said, "We sincerely apologize on behalf of the offending students to the victim for the unfortunate incident," and added, "The educational community will devote itself to ensuring that such an incident never happens again."

The incident occurred around 11:30 p.m. on the 25th on a street in Hongmundong, Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province. At that time, four teenage high school students, including A (17), demanded that B, a man in his 60s, run errands for cigarettes while hitting him with flowers.

One of the offending students is enrolled at Gyeonggi Tourism High School, which has issued an official apology. / Photo by Internet Homepage Capture

They also filmed the scene of the violence against the elderly man and posted it on social networking services (SNS). In the video, A can be seen asking B, who is wearing a yellow raincoat, to "buy cigarettes" and lightly hitting his head and shoulders with flowers. While hitting B, A makes mocking remarks such as "Where is your boyfriend?", "Did you break up?", and "Are you going to buy cigarettes or not? Just say that."

When B tries to move away saying "No," A threatens him not to move. When B asks, "How old are you? Aren't you a student?" A replies, "Seventeen," but does not stop the assault.

The controversy grew further when it was revealed that the chrysanthemums used by the students to hit B were memorial flowers placed near the nearby Statue of Peace. This statue was erected last August to honor Grandma Lee Yong-nyeo, a comfort woman victim from Yeoju.

Netizens who saw the video demanded strict punishment and disclosure of the identities of the offending students. On the 28th, a petition titled "Demanding punishment and identity disclosure for teenagers who made a man in his 60s run errands for cigarettes and hit his head" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board.

Meanwhile, the Yeoju Police Station booked A and the other three students on the same day. The police plan to summon them along with their guardians to confirm the detailed circumstances of the incident and decide on applicable charges.

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