Two Teenagers Arrested for Assaulting a Woman in Her 60s Who Refused to Buy Cigarettes

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Teenagers who assaulted a woman in her 60s for refusing to buy cigarettes for them were eventually arrested.

The Yeoju Police Station in Gyeonggi announced on the 16th that two teenagers, including A, were detained on charges of assault.

According to the police, five individuals including A are accused of repeatedly hitting a woman in her 60s, Ms. B, on the head and shoulders with flowers she was holding on the street in Hongmun-dong, Yeoju City, around 11:30 PM on the 25th of last month.

The incident sparked public outrage after a video of the assault circulated on online communities. The video shows a male student saying to Ms. B, "Will you buy cigarettes or not?" and when she hesitates, he mockingly taps her head and shoulders with flowers. It was also reported that A and others kicked Ms. B's handcart to intimidate her.

The police investigating the case judged that the charges against A and one other were serious and applied for arrest warrants, which were issued the day before.

Following the revelation of these facts, a petition titled "Strong punishment and public disclosure of identities for teenagers who demanded cigarette runs from a woman in her 60s and repeatedly struck her head with a stick" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board on the 30th of last month, gaining over 117,000 signatures as of 5:15 PM on the day.

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